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Fredericton's firefighters' union has released a candidate slate which would throw incumbent mayor Brad Woodside and every member of the existing council, save one, out of office May 12.

Local 1053 of the International Association of Firefighters on Thursday released its endorsements for mayor and council.

The only member of council the union would spare is Ward 12's David Kelly.

The union's list calls for Tim Andrew in the mayor's chair; Joe Fisher in Ward 2; Eric Megarity in Ward 4; David Calhoun in Ward 5; Kevin Roherty in Ward 7; either Jo-Ann Fellows or Calvin Gesner in Ward 9; Jordan Graham, Doug Pond or Wendy Hebert in Ward 11; and Kelly in Ward 12.

The union arrived at its conclusions after hosting a meet-and-greet for council candidates at the Fredericton Inn, in which 14 attended. But the event was on the same night as the last regularly scheduled council session before the agenda. Incumbent councillors couldn't attend.

A month or so ago, the union asked the incumbents to complete a survey on firefighter issues. Only one responded, said Doug Leblanc, president of the Fredericton local.

"At that point, it's obvious you (council) don't want to listen to workers' concerns," Leblanc said.

"In our opinion, our current council has failed the citizens of Fredericton by not allocating the proper funding to the fire service and refusing to openly discuss the impacts of the fire station location study.

"We have a vision of a caring and progressive fire service for Fredericton, one that is prepared to grow along with the city, but in order to achieve that, we need the support of Fredericton council. We believe the candidates we are endorsing are prepared to take us in that direction.

"We're looking for an open ear."

Leblanc said while Fredericton has grown over the past 10 years, the size of the fire service hasn't increased proportionally.

"We don't necessarily run with as many firefighters on our fire apparatus as we should," Leblanc said. "We've got concerns that the fire stations aren't located in the proper places."

Firefighters have repeatedly asked for, but been denied, a copy of the fire station location study commissioned for the city, Leblanc said.

"It would be nice to see what was revealed in that study," he said.

"It could increase response times."

The union is not only urging its members, but it's urging citizens to vote for the same candidates on May 12.

The union endorsed Ward 4 candidate Calhoun early on in the municipal election race, and it donated $1,500 - $1,000 from the local and $500 from the union's Canadian head office - to his campaign.

As far as financial backing for the candidate slate, Leblanc said the only funding the union has given has been to Calhoun.

"We know Dave and know what type of person he is," Leblanc said.

It would have been nice to support other candidates financially, but he said the union has 111 members.

Woodside said he's surprised that an employee group would enter the election fray. He said he believes it's the U.S. international firefighters' union in Washington, D.C. that's urging the concerted political lobby effort.

Firefighters here have little to gripe about, Woodside said.

"This current council just built a fire station training station," Woodside said.

Tenders are out for two new fire stations, Woodside said, plus firefighters are in line for a 4.5 per cent pay hike.

"What is so wrong in Fredericton? You've got the best equipment; you're getting good money. If you don't like being a firefighter, find another job," Woodside said.

Fredericton spends $8.4 million annually on its fire service, $8 million of which goes to salaries and benefits.

In 2007, firefighters responded to 625 fire calls, including 46 structure fires and 16 involved outbuildings such as sheds or garages.

Firefighters also provide medical first responses, adding another 2,165 calls for service to their list of duties.