Although Dave and Mary Jackson have been our neighbors for over 20 years, we and others in our Willow Creek neighborhood have came to know Dave much better since 2004, after he retired and became more involved in local and county politics. Because of his long interest in fire and rescue issues, Dave quickly became immersed in learning more about our South Metro Fire Rescue District (SMFR), attending most of their monthly Board meetings and becoming familiar with the District's operational, budget, and financial issues. As a result, our neighborhood has come to depend on Dave to keep us informed on all aspects of SMFR, just as he does on many other political and neighborhood concerns.

Dave is one of those leaders who makes our neighborhood such an involved and cohesive place to live that no one wants to move away. We all know Dave to be high caliber in every way--a person of impeccable character who is extremely intelligent, honest, hardworking, trustworthy, thoughtful, thorough, careful, and above all, fair and open-minded. He is a neighbor we all feel enriched to have.

Being so familiar with Dave's many fine qualities and his knowledge of the Fire District, we are dismayed to learn now that the South Metro Fire Rescue Firefighters Union (IAFF Local 2164) is touting their three slate candidates (Livingston, Simon, and Eng) as being "the most qualified candidates" in a deceptively official-looking brochure they've published for the May 6 Board of Directors election. No, these three are NOT the most qualified candidates! As any of us can attest who have occasionally attended the Board meetings with Dave, these slate candidates rarely if ever have attended any of the monthly Board meetings over the past several years, and their limited knowledge of SMFR issues has quickly been revealed in the few times any have shown up at the recent forums and "meet and greet" events held for Board candidates.

One of the slate candidates, Hank Eng, a very recent transplant to Colorado, is running not only for a SMFR Board seat, but also as the Democratic candidate in the 6th Congressional District race to replace Tom Tancredo! Should Mr. Eng be elected in May to fill one of the SMFR Board seats, how much time will he possibly be able to spend in becoming familiar with fire and rescue issues, when he surely will be totally consumed in his Congressional campaign as the November General Election approaches?

With absolutely no doubt, of all seven candidates, Dave Jackson stands out as being the one with by far the greatest understanding of all aspects of the District, and with the professional skills necessary to guide SMFR through the complex merger process that lies ahead. We Fire District residents and taxpayers could not have a better candidate to represent us than Dave. Therefore, we urge you to cast one of your three votes for Dave Jackson.

Bios of each candidate can be found either on the SMFR website www.southmetro.org (then go to the link "a newsletter with some candidate information") or as a special four page "tabloid-type" insert in the Wednesday, April 23 (or thereabouts) Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post.

Sincerely,

Mark and Sue Rosser
Ray and Chris Anderson
Willow Creek subdivision
Centennial, Colorado