Out Schaitbergering Schaitberger
When Lori Does a Harold
Ed Kelly, IAFF president-elect, announced his transition team which includes Lori Moore-Merrell.
Lori has a long association with the IAFF, serving on staff for many years, she recently retired and now runs a consultant business.
She was especially prominent during Harold Schaitberger’s lengthy tenure. Schaitberger promoted her to be his assistant and made her responsible for many high profile projects including convention activities and critical deployment and staffing studies.
In joining the triumphant Kelly, she has out-Schaitbergered Schaitberger by going to work for a secretary treasurer who knocked her president out of the ring.
It’s straight out of the Harold Schaitberger Playbook so he has precious little to complain about.
The late Howie McClennan, former IAFF president, hired Harold Schaitberger as a staffer in the 1970's.
When Howie left and Jack Gannon became president and Al Whitehead secretary treasurer, Schaitberger helped Whitehead build support and momentum for a run at his own boss, Gannon.
That’s exactly what Whitehead did in 1988 when he defeated Gannon and Schaitberger was rewarded for his efforts by becoming Whitehead’s top assistant.
Schaitberger worked for a secretary treasurer who knocked his president out of the ring.
It’s doubly ironic that Lori worked for both Whitehead and Schaitberger, she learned from the best.
They’ll be plenty of plums to pick this time too, Harold Schaitberger cemented the practice of awarding multi-million dollar no-bid contracts to his friends and allies.
Seeing Moore-Merrell pop up in the Kelly camp is the perfect capstone to Schaitberger’s inglorious end and shameful exit.
Finally, Al Whitehead was a secretary treasurer from California as is Frank Lima. And Whitehead came from the inside exactly where Frank Lima now is. Will the lightening strike a third time?
It’s business as usual at the IAFF.
