The Howard County firefighters union used a press conference to attack the Republican county executivecandidate for likening its need for a county training facility to children wanting a playground in their backyard.
“It?s completely disrespectful,” said Richard Ruehl, president of the Howard County Professional Fire Fighters Association, in reference to Chris Merdon?s comments, made at a recent candidates? forum in North Laurel.
Merdon was discussing the county public safety training facility being built, which he opposed in favor of using a regional facility.
He compared the need for a county fire training facility with children asking for a playground in their yard, rather than using a community lot, according to a transcript of the forum provided by the union.
The union, which endorsed Merdon?s Democratic opponent Ken Ulman, had not approached Merdon directly with their concerns, Ruehl said, adding Merdon should had realized the error in his comments.
“This is not so much about wanting to elevate Ken [Ulman] in all this,” Ruehl said. “We just feel like we can?t sit back without responding.”
In response, Merdon said he was “not going to engage in [the association?s] attack tactics.”
He declined to comment further.
Merdon said at the forum he voted against the county facility, which was approved three years ago, because the county should work regionally. The state built a regional center in Carroll County that was sufficient for county use, he said.
The county facility is being built in stages on a former landfill in Marriottsville, said Fire and Rescue spokesman Bill Mould.
County firefighters currently travel to various training facilities around the area to conduct training drills, he said.
The union also took issue with Merdon?s comments about the new 800 MHz communication system. At the forum, Merdon said the system was “a little expensive, and it could have been scaled back quite a bit.”
