Art Caceres, first vice president of Local 936 and the union's COPE chairman, said the decision to endorse Cantu was based in part on the union's history of supporting incumbents who have been considered friendly to the organization. "There's no hidden meaning behind it," Caceres said. "We have a history of sticking with our incumbents. We call them friendly endorsements." Caceres said Cantu has supported the union on issues important to firefighters and has not voted against the organization.