Firefighters union leader backs Holcomb in Hernando Commission race

Jason Haas, president of Hernando County Professional Firefighters Local 3760, endorsed former state Rep. Jeff Holcomb in the Hernando County Commission District 4 race, putting one of the county’s most visible public-safety leaders behind a candidate already benefiting from a fast-moving reshuffle in local politics.

The endorsement stands out because Haas has also shown public support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Public posts showed Haas sharing pro-Biden content that included Fire Fighters for Biden-Harris branding, a detail that makes his backing of Holcomb especially notable in a county where party ties and personal alliances are closely watched.

Holcomb entered the District 4 race after abandoning his bid for Florida House District 53, and the swap sent a ripple through Hernando’s June qualifying scramble. Brian Hawkins resigned from the County Commission on June 10, 2026, to run for the House seat Holcomb left behind, and the last-minute moves helped open the door for additional candidate changes, including Diane Greenwell’s entry into the District 2 race before the June 13 deadline.

The endorsement also lands at a moment when fire-service politics are already at the center of county debate. Hernando County Fire Rescue recently asked commissioners for a fire-assessment increase of 4% to 6%, a proposal that meeting documents said would raise about $45 million for infrastructure, new stations, equipment and staffing. Commissioners pushed back hard on the request, putting future fire funding squarely in the public eye as the campaign season takes shape.

Local labor relations add another layer. Hernando County commissioners unanimously approved the 2025-2026 collective bargaining agreement with Local 3760 on Sept. 23, 2025, showing that the county and the firefighters union can reach agreement even as they clash over broader budget questions. That combination of contract cooperation and fiscal tension gives Haas’s endorsement extra weight in a race that now touches both politics and public safety.

The national backdrop is also complicated. The International Association of Fire Fighters gave Biden a prominent platform at its legislative conference in March 2023, the first time in 25 years a sitting president addressed the group, and later hosted Harris at its 2024 legislative conference, where staffing, SAFER and AFG grants, and firefighter health and safety were central themes. The national union ultimately declined to endorse a presidential candidate in 2024, making Haas’s local show of support one more sign that county races can still carry the imprint of national labor politics.