The Milwaukee Common Council's rejection this week of a $55 million apartment high-rise was largely the result of opposition from people living in a neighboring east side condo building. But the neighboring condo owners were joined in their campaign by a unexpected figure: the president of the local firefighters union, who lives 13 miles from the proposed project site. David Seager spoke with some council members about his opposition to the high-rise proposal, according to sources who heard about those conversations. Those sources asked not to be identified. Seager's low-key involvement is a surprise. It's not a union issue, and most of those involved in the zoning debate were either neighborhood residents, or the project's developers and their supporters in the business community. Seager didn't respond to requests for information about why he spoke with council members about the high-rise. Madison developer Chris Houden wanted to build the 27-story, 192-unit building behind the Goll House, 1550 N. Prospect Ave. Patrick Dunphy, an attorney and resident of the condo building at 1522 N. Prospect Ave., also didn't respond to requests for information. Dunphy helped lead opposition to the project. Seager is a well-known figure at City Hall. He's been president of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association since 2010, and played a key role in lobbying the state Legislature to overturn Milwaukee's residency requirement for city employees.