Members of N.Y.’s Uniformed Firefighters Ass’n did not reelect Kevin Gallagher president Jun. 11, but he did get a plurality of the votes, forcing a run-off. Gallagher received 2,978 votes and will face ex-boss John Aragona, who won 2,211 votes. Sources familiar with the union, which has had five presidents in the 1990s, said the strong showing by Aragona was surprising, given his questionable past. The N.Y. Fire Commissioner Tom Von Essen, said in 1994 while he was union president that Aragona, then treasurer, was responsible for hiring a bookkeeper who was later indicted for embezzling at least $375,000 from the union. [Newsday 6/19/99]
