(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Leigh Strope on September 24.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is the first Democrat to get a national union endorsement other than Dick Gephardt, who now has 14.
The International Association of Fire Fighters planned to endorse Kerry on Wednesday after a vote of union leaders.
The union, which reported 214,000 dues-paying members last year, likes Kerry’s record as a decorated Vietnam War veteran; his political, legal and legislative experience; his sense of humor; and his personal interests in athletics and Harley-Davidsons, union President Harold Schaitberger said.
Late entrant Wesley Clark has four-star credentials, but lacks political and legislative experience, said Schaitberger, who spent a couple of hours at breakfast with the retired general several weeks ago, along with other union presidents.
“You’ve got to know how to navigate and operate in Washington, D.C., to be a good president and to be an effective executive,” he said. “I question Wesley Clark’s experience, and John Kerry clearly has that experience.”
Gephardt is a longtime ally of organized labor, yet some public and service sector unions are hesitant to embrace his second run for the White House.
The firefighters union wanted to support a candidate who can beat President Bush next year. “Our view is that Dick Gephardt is not the candidate who has that best chance,” Schaitberger said.
After a disappointing showing in fund raising, Gephardt’s third-quarter results, out Sept. 30, will be a key indication of whether he can win enough support for a laborwide endorsement from the AFL-CIO.
President John Sweeney is expected to call a general board meeting around Oct. 15 to consider an endorsement, which requires support from unions representing two-thirds of the federation’s 13 million members.
The AFL-CIO’s endorsement decisions in the past have been based only on union leaders present in the room, and leaders who abstain don’t get counted in a final tally, which may work to Gephardt’s benefit.