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Under the leadership of President Vince Wells, Local 1230 includes firefighters from six fire districts and fire departments in the county, with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District accounting for the largest number of rank-and-file members, nearly five times the number who work for MOFD. It makes the Oct. 1 ascendancy of Stephens and Elbanna to the five-person executive board even more impressive.
"The Moraga-Orinda guys wanted to get more involved with the union, and people were confident in those two," Wells said. "They are well respected by the membership."
Stephens, in his role as vice president, works closely with Wells and the district union representatives. His duties include participation in contract negotiations and representing the union in meet-and-confer efforts with fire agency management.
As secretary-treasurer, Elbanna, among his other union responsibilities, manages the local's $500,000 budget. "He and I sign the checks," Wells said.
"The union does so much for us and I wanted to give back," Elbanna said. "There is a lot to know about union activities and it will be beneficial for me to learn and to be able to contribute to a strong union."
Stephens was recently the Local 1230 secretary-treasurer and he is also president of the Moraga-Orinda Professional Firefighters Association. "There is more to the life of a firefighter than just fighting fires," Stephens said. "Being involved with the community and with the membership has always been important to me."
Firefighter-paramedic Lucas Lambert and newly elected Capt. Mark McCullah are the union representatives for the 52 MOFD firefighters.
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA