| IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger has replied against the claims of state Republican Party |
The IAFF is the leading advocate in North America for the health and safety of first responders.
International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger issued the following statement in response to the West Virginia Republican Party's false claim that a political ad produced and paid for by our union's federal political action committee and supporting Governor Joe Manchin includes West Virginia fire fighters illegally:
"This is a typical stunt. State Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart knows Governor Joe Manchin had nothing to do with this ad. It's an independent expenditure, and even Mike Stuart knows what an independent expenditure is. To suggest that the governor, anyone in his campaign or anyone associated with his campaign had any role in the ad produced and paid for by our union's federal political action committee [FIREPAC] at best is showing their ignorance of the law and at worst is telling a lie.
"If state Republicans want to make an issue of the legality of our ad, let them. But I have a hard time believing that they are stupid enough to sue fire fighters for exercising their free speech rights. "It's obvious that Mike Stuart's real concern is that real West Virginians fully support Joe Manchin for the U.S. Senate and have no hesitation discussing their support for Joe."