Spotlight on the Candidates: Kevin Johnston

Bio:

53 years old. Division Chief at Alameda County Fire. Employed with Novato Fire District 1988-2008 reaching rank of Battalion Chief. Last post with district included running training division. Has also worked for Office of Emergency Services and been chief of the Emeryville Fire Department.

Education:

Bachelor’s St. Mary’s, Management. Masters degree in Emergency Services Administration, CSU Long Beach.

Why I’m Running:

“This is my home. I love the Novato Fire District and miss the firefighters dearly. I want to stay involved and give back to the community. I want to share what I know and bring my exposure from all these different agencies. We have an awesome fire department and I want keep it that way.”

Issues I’d Like to Address:

Pensions

“Clearly retiree healthcare and pensions have spiraled out of control and we need to continue to manage that through collective bargaining. I believe strongly that you need to protect the folks that are retired, but we need to look at the folks still working or just coming in. I think those benefits are going to need to look a lot different from the folks that have retired. Because the truth is we can’t afford it. But it has to be a policy direction.”

Oversight

“We need to make sure we have transparency for not only the board but also for public. I know how to be objective. I spent my time in the training division (of the Novato Fire Protection District) making recommendation on whether people could actually keep their job and in some cases I made the recommendation that they didn’t.”

“My objectivity goes all the way to when I served on the committee that investigated (fallen Novato firefighter) Steve Rucker’s death. I had to put aside the fact that I’d trained these people and make recommendations that were sometimes painful.”

Why You Should Vote For Me:

“When I was Fire Chief in Emeryville, I put together task force to study options about possible change to fire service. Ultimately, the task force decided to contract for services with Alameda County Fire, saving the city of Emeryville $500,000 a year and eliminating the chief’s position. I stood back and didn’t meddle and let them come to an informed decision that was going to be a good thing for fire services in that town.”

“I understand the fire service community, all the way from firefighter to fire chief and what’s an essential service to what’s discretionary. I also have a business side from being fire chief to make sure our department gets the biggest bang for our buck.”