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Madoski running for Ripon Consolidated Fire District’s board
Larry Madoski
Larry Madoski

Over the last 25 years, Larry Madoski has worked his way through the ranks of the fire service – following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.

From a reserve firefighter when he first started to the current position as the Division Chief of the Lathrop Manteca District, Madoski has done just about everything during his career.

And now he wants to take the next step towards lending that expertise to the community he has called home for more than a decade.

The political novice is hoping that his experience correlates to a position on the Ripon Consolidated Fire District Board of Directors as one of four candidates vying for three available positions on November 3.

With his deep knowledge of the fire service and his desire to serve the community where he is raising his family, Madoski believes that he’ll be a perfect fit on the board that oversees the fire and medical emergency services for the residents of Ripon.

“When we looked at it as a family, we made a decision – if we have good ideas, we need to bring them to the table and get involved,” Madoski said of why he decided to run. “There are some things that I think that I could help with – Ripon is a community with tall standards that believes in slow growth, and that’s not an easy thing to manage.

“Our firefighters do an amazing job, and the executive management team has done a great job, and I just want to bring another perspective to see if I can help.”

A fresh perspective, Madoski said, may be what is needed to help address some of the issues that the district is facing as it balances on the high-wire between the community’s exclusivity and funding a full-service department that provides ambulance services as well.

While discussions are currently being held at the local level about how to secure funding necessary to maintain an adequate level of service for the community, the Ripon Consolidated Fire District does not have the funding at this time to staff the city’s new fire station on River Road – something that Madoski said that he is looking forward to helping address if elected.

Through his years in the fire service and through the relationships that he has built with Ripon firefighters both as a resident and a fellow firefighter from a neighboring agency, Madoski said that he has nothing but respect for those that put on the uniform to protect lives and property and wants to ensure that the legacy of service remains intact.

“Understanding how the department functions on a professional level, when it comes to providing residents service I can tell you that the firefighters that work for Ripon are some of the best in the industry – they do an amazing job and have a good mix of tenured guys that have bene there for a while and guys that are coming in and starting their careers,” Madoski said. “I don’t think that there’s any better or more reflective proof of this than the number of firefighters and public safety professionals that have made Ripon their home – especially those that are working in the community in which they live.

“The city has a huge cross-section of public safety employees, and that’s because the people that serve the community do great work.”

While Madoski does work for an agency that has a border that abuts that of the Ripon Consolidated Fire District, he said he doesn’t see any reason why his capacity with Lathrop Manteca would create a conflict of interest when it comes to serving on the fire board – pointing out that while talks of consolidation are not out of the ordinary for special districts, there are multiple other agencies that also share borders with Ripon that would likely factor into that decision before his employer did.

And at the end of the day, Ripon is where he has chosen to raise his family, and it’s where he lives with his wife, Anita, and their three children – Madelynn, 15, Marcus, 13, and Macie, 8.

Currently Madoski is working with his son to build a golf cart after stripping down an existing vehicle to its frame in order to help his learn tangible skills that he feels are in short supply in the age of video games and digital screens. He and his family are active at Crossroads Grace Community Church where they have been members of the congregation since 1997.

“There are so many things that are unique to the community of Ripon – it’s the only fire-based paramedic transport in San Joaquin County,” Madoski said. “When you look at communities that have tall standards, there are challenges to maintain that, but I believe strongly that public here prioritizes a safe community and they want to have a safe place to raise their family.

“This community sees that there is an ambulance and it’s something that the community has rallied around – it’s homegrown and homebased and they see that they can vote for their fire board to ultimately weigh in on providing those service provisions. I feel that I can understand how tall those expectations are because I’ve been in the seat where you have to make those decisions and I think that I can bring all of that experience and a good perspective to this community.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.