Two names dominate as Seattle begins police-chief search

The search for Seattle's next police chief is finally in full gear, a year after word trickled out that former Chief Gil Kerlikowske would become the Obama administration's drug czar.

Though the final selection is months away, the choice could come down to an insider versus an outsider. Already, interim Police Chief John Diaz has said he will seek the job, and Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick is expected to apply.

For now, the process is wide open. On Wednesday night, a search committee selected by Mayor Mike McGinn will begin hosting a series of public meetings to hear what people want in a new chief.

The first meeting, at the Northgate Community Center, is part of the city's broad effort to gauge public sentiment before McGinn makes one of the most important decisions of his first year in office. The city has even set up a special telephone number and Web site to solicit ideas.

"I just hope a lot of people want to engage on this," said Kate Joncas, co-chair of the search committee and president of the Downtown Seattle Association.

McGinn hasn't established criteria for the job, opting to let the 26 members of the search committee do that based on what they hear in public meetings, as well as the research they have been encouraged to do in the community, said Mark Matassa, the mayor's spokesman.

As one of its first acts, the search committee recently hired a national search firm for $42,000 to find candidates.

The City Council weighed in with its criteria and policy goals in January, a first for the council and a sign of the importance it puts on the selection. In a resolution, the council said, among other things, it wants someone with strong leadership and budget skills, who supports civilian oversight of officer conduct and has a demonstrated ability to foster innovation.

The search didn't get under way until January because former Mayor Greg Nickels held off on looking for a permanent replacement through the summer as he ran for re-election. But when he failed to survive the primary in August, his plan to launch the search process shortly after the primary fell apart.

A search committee formed by Nickels never met, although it provided the basis of the diverse panel eventually selected by mayor-elect McGinn in December. It includes representatives of law-enforcement, civil-liberties and legal organizations; neighborhood, labor and business groups; and ethnic, religious and police-accountability leaders.

Early favorite

Until Nickels lost, Diaz was considered the front-runner for the permanent post. Nickels chose him in March to temporarily replace Kerlikowske, who was nominated that month to the drug-czar post and left in May to take it.

As a deputy chief and longtime veteran of the department, Diaz had a strong grasp of the department's workings and budget, and he enjoyed support within Nickels' inner circle despite a sometimes stormy relationship with the city's police union.

It was uncertain then whether anyone else inside the Seattle department would seek the position, but now others are expected to apply. No names have surfaced officially, but Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, acting Deputy Chief Nick Metz and Assistant Chief Jim Pugel are among those who have been mentioned. All three issued a statement Tuesday saying they were giving "strong consideration" to applying, while affirming their "solidarity" and listing attributes that could be seen as support for an internal choice. Diaz joined the statement, although his plans to apply are firm, a department spokesman said.

"There are no inside-track candidates, internally or externally," said Matassa, the mayor's spokesman.

Kudos for Spokane chief

At the same time, some people inside and outside the Police Department are privately expressing support for Spokane's Kirkpatrick, citing her reputation as a no-nonsense chief who would bring a fresh approach.

Seattle has never had a woman as police chief, and Kirkpatrick's skills at community outreach and tackling tough disciplinary issues have earned accolades since she took over the Spokane department in 2006 after serving as Federal Way's police chief for 5 ½ years.

Kirkpatrick intends to apply for the job, said one Seattle official familiar with her plans.

In an interview, she told The Seattle Times she is paying close attention to the search process because she was a longtime Seattle resident and still has a house in the city.

She said she is focused on her position in Spokane and that city has her "complete devotion." Asked whether she plans to pursue the Seattle job, she said, "right now I serve Spokane."

Diaz, who has been with the department for 30 years, offers McGinn the opportunity to name the city's first Latino police chief and promote career development within the department. Seattle hasn't had a permanent chief who came from within the department since the late 1970s, when the hiring of Patrick Fitzsimons from New York City's police department ushered in an era of outside choices.

Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild and a member of the search committee, said it is too soon to call Kirkpatrick, or anyone else, a potential candidate for the job.

"The committee has met two or three times and basically chose a firm to do the vetting process because they're expecting over 50 to 100 candidates. The search firm will whittle that down to a manageable number."

"I don't know her so I can't say anything about her," he said of Kirkpatrick. "My hope is our internal candidates will be given a fair shake. I hear we are going to have several internal candidates."

Narrowing the field

The search committee will hold three public hearings before settling on criteria for a new chief to be used by the search firm, as well as interview questions.

That information will be submitted in March to the firm, Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, D.C.-based organization of police executives from the country's largest law-enforcement agencies. It has extensive experience in that role, having helped other cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, find new police chiefs, and comes highly recommended by cities that have used it, according to Joncas, the search committee co-chair.

Even though PERF is likely to forward names of its own members — which some might see as a conflict of interest — it is possible it will look outside its organization, Joncas said, citing PERF's broad membership as an advantage.

It has been asked to produce a list of 10 to 15 of the best-qualified candidates by late April.

The search committee will then narrow the field to five to seven candidates, with a vote to be conducted in public following private discussion.

After interviews with the candidates, three finalists will be chosen in late May and presented to the City Council's Public Safety and Education Committee in early June. That committee will interview the candidates, perhaps publicly, said Tim Burgess, the committee chair.

Sometime after that, McGinn will announce his choice, which is subject to confirmation by the full council.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this story.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com