Seattle Forward

Chief John Diaz Confirmed

The City Council voted this afternoon 8-0 (Conlin excused) to confirm Mayor McGinn's appointment of John Diaz as Chief of Police.  As part of his confirmation, the Council sent this letter of expectations to Chief Diaz.

Prior to the Council's vote, I shared the following comments with my colleagues:

Today, we vote on the confirmation of John Diaz as Seattle’s chief of police.  Compared to other cities of our size, confirmation of a police chief doesn’t happen here very often.  The last time was 10 years ago when Gil Kerlikowske was confirmed as Chief.

The last permanent chief appointed from within the ranks of the police department was 36 years ago when Mayor Wes Uhlman chose Robert Hanson.  Chief Hanson was confirmed by the City Council on a razor thin 5 to 4 vote.  All of the police chiefs following Bob Hanson came from outside Seattle. 

The Sally's

Got squeezed between the Sally's on TV last week.  It's amazing what C. R. Douglas can pry out of us.  We covered a host of issues.

Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

Police Chief Confirmation Schedule

Here is the schedule for Council consideration of Chief John Diaz's appointment as Chief of Police.

Wednesday, July 21 at 9:30 a.m.  Public Safety and Education Committee meeting in Council chambers.  Chief Diaz will appear, make opening comments, respond to questions from Council members.  Public comment will accepted at the beginning of the meeting.

Wednesday, July 28 at 5 p.m.  Public Safety and Education Committee public hearing on police chief confirmation.

Wednesday, August 4 at 9:30 a.m.  Public Safety and Education Committee meeting and possible vote on police chief confirmation.

Monday, August 9 at 2 p.m.  Full Council action on Public Safety and Education Committee recommendations on Chief of Police confirmation. 

Monday, August 16 at 2 p.m.  ALTERNATE date for full Council action on Chief of Police confirmation.

The Importance of Police Chief Selection

UPDATE Saturday, June 19 9:45 a.m: I wrote a piece about the importance of the Mayor's police chief appointment this week that was published at Crosscut.com.  It's likely the Mayor will announce his selection this next week, perhaps as early as Monday or Tuesday.

UPDATE Wednesday, June 9 1 p.m:  Chief Rick Braziel from Sacramento withdrew from consideration today.  I am disappointed because he was an exceptionally well qualified candidate.  He could have assumed command of the police department from day one and provided outstanding leadership.

Mayor McGinn will name a new Seattle police chief in the next week or two.  It will be, by far, the most important decision of his term as Mayor.  Here's a bit of history, perspective and commentary about his appointment.

Marshal John T. Jordan (photo to left) was Seattle's first top cop, elected by the voters in 1869 when the city was officially formed.  The title was changed to Chief of Police in 1883, but the public continued to elect the city's top police commander until 1891 when a five-member Board of Police Commissioners, chaired by the Mayor, started appointing the police chief. 

The police commission was abolished in 1896 and the Mayor gained sole authority to appoint the Chief.  During the 1930s and 1940s, Seattle's police chief served a fixed five-year term in office.  That changed in 1946 following World War II when the fixed term was eliminated.

45 individuals have served as police chief in Seattle, including those early-year marshals.  The last permanent chief appointed from within the ranks of the police department was 36 years ago when Robert Hanson, chosen by then-Mayor Wes Uhlman, was confirmed on a razor thing five-to-four vote by the City Council.  Hanson served as chief from 1974 to 1978.

Kevin Johnson and Police Chief Search

OK, I get to meet lots of people in my work, but yesterday was a hoot when our little delegation from Seattle walked into the office of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.  That's Mayor Mike McGinn's legal counsel, Carl Marquardt, on the left.  Members of our team not pictured are Pam Inch from the city's personnel office and Kate Joncas, co-chair of the Mayor's Police Chief Citizen's Search Committee.  Mayor Johnson was one of the leaders we met with in Sacramento to learn more about Chief Rick Braziel, one of the finalists to become Seattle's new chief. 

On Tuesday, our team was in East Palo Alto, California meeting with Chief Ron Davis and meeting with community leaders. 

Next Wednesday, June 2 at 9:30 a.m., all three finalists for the Seattle position will appear before the City Council's Public Safety and Education Committee in a public session at City Hall.  Wednesday night, the finalists will participate in a public forum at Seattle Center.

Mayor McGinn is expected to select his appointee by the middle of June.

Police Chief Choice: Better Get It Right!

We are moving into the final weeks of the police chief selection process and, in my view, we had better get this important decision right for a whole variety of reasons—public confidence in our police officers to be the fair, respectful and effective protectors we expect, the morale and stability of our police force and our desire to reduce crime in an era of shrinking resources. (Read my earlier posts on the selection of a new police chief.)

The last point above—reducing crime at a time of shrinking resources—shouldn't be overlooked when public attention is rightly focused on what is a regrettable and troubling incident.  

Reducing crime—the most important goal of any police department, in my view—is crucially important to protect our neighborhoods and there are evolving theories about how to do it in a manner that upholds fairness and civil liberties. 

Police Chief Selection Moves to Council Soon

The Mayor's Police Chief Selection Committee has forwarded the names of three finalists to the Mayor for his consideration.  Mayor McGinn is expected to appoint a new chief in early June, then the Council will begin our confirmation process. 

The Council's Public Safety and Education Committee will hold a public discussion with the three finalists on Wednesday, June 2 at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall.  Read this earlier post for more information on the Council's priorities for the new chief and my perspective. 

Thoughts on New Police Chief

One of the most significant decisions the Council will make this year involves confirmation of a new police chief to lead our police department.  Chief Gil Kerlikowske served as Seattle chief for nine years.  Chief Norm Stamper before him served four years.  Chief Patrick Fitzsimons served 16 years before Stamper. 

The average tenure of a major city police chief in the United States is 3.5 to four years.  So in the 29 years since Chief Fitzsimons was first appointed Seattle has had three police chiefs, while the typical large American city would have ground