Seattle police-chief search will wait until after election

The search for a new Seattle police chief won't begin until after the Nov. 3 mayoral election, according to a spokesman for Mayor Greg Nickels.

Nickels had asked candidates Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn if they would be willing to let a search committee begin looking for police-chief candidates before the election, as long as the victor was allowed to make the selection.

McGinn agreed, but Mallahan opposed the idea, Nickels spokesman Alex Fryer said Thursday.

As a result, Nickels won't move forward with the search, Fryer said. Nickels formed a 24-member search committee in August but put his plan on hold after he was ousted from the mayoral race in the Aug. 18 primary.

Charla Neuman, Mallahan's campaign spokeswoman, said Thursday that Mallahan would like the search to begin after the election so it can be given serious thought and not get caught up in the politics of the campaign.

Nickels could begin the search after the election and if Mallahan wins he would possibly favor adding a few members to the search committee, Neuman said.

The new mayor will take office in January.

Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis agreed to Mallahan's proposal, Neuman said.

Interim Police Chief John Diaz has overseen the department since May, when former Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske left to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position commonly known as "drug czar."

Diaz has said he will seek the permanent position.

Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick also is interested in the job, according to a City Hall source.

Kirkpatrick, who took over that department in 2006 after serving as Federal Way's police chief, has acknowledged that she is constantly recruited for other jobs but is not actively pursuing work outside Spokane, The Associated Press reported.

In an e-mail to her department, Kirkpatrick said she was recently asked to apply for police chief in San Francisco and did apply. But she didn't get the job.

Kirkpatrick said that as one of the few women in charge of a large police department, she often is on lists of possible candidates for police-chief openings, The Associated Press reported.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com