People influencing Vancouver’s search for a new police chief

All the buzz about Chip Kelly this morning reminded me of a post I’ve been meaning to write about Vancouver’s search for a new coa … um, police chief.

Hey, I’m not the first person to draw a connection between football and law enforcement.

According to The Police Chief magazine, the average tenure of a police chief is three years.

So maybe Cliff Cook’s five-year tenure should be considered a victory, even though he was the subject of a “no-confidence vote” by his rank-and-file. Or maybe City Manager Eric Holmes should have fired him. Cook resigned last year after meeting with Holmes, and has since been hired as chief in Bellingham.

Since 1937, the city has had 13 police chiefs.

As reported, Holmes decided to seek outside help to find a new chief.

In an email to Mayor Tim Leavitt and council members earlier this month, Holmes said a team from the Washington, D.C.-based International City/County Management Association had started doing interviews with 30 stakeholders, including 15 people from within the department.

So who are these stakeholders?

VPD insiders

Sgt. Andy Hamlin

Commander Dave King

Sgt. John Chapman

Sgt. Pat Moore

Officer Jeff Kipp

Officer Ilia Botvinnik

Officer Jeff Olson

Corporal Steve Pfuhl

Officer Mary Jane Long

Stephanie Acopan, VPD support staff

Kathy Parrish, VPD service technician

Commander Marty Holloway

School Resource Officer Laura Andersen

Officer Rodrigo Osario

Interim Chief Chris Sutter

Community members

Tony Golik, Clark County Prosecuting Attorney

John Deeder, Evergreen Public Schools superintendent

Mick Hoffman, Vancouver Public Schools director of safety and security

Eric Olmstead, Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce

Paige Moreau, manager of Westfield Vancouver mall

Bob Williamson, Clark College vice-president of administration

James Senescu, attorney

Ross Montgomery, neighborhood representative and VPD volunteer

Sharif Burdzik, Riverview Community Bank

Jean Kent, neighborhood representative

Diana Perez, League of United Latin American Citizens president

Victoria Hamilton, (no information available)

Dan Maks, Lucky Loan owner

Betsy Henning, CEO of AHA! marketing and communications company

Leilani Russell, a member of the chief’s Diversity Advisory Committee, was scheduled to be interviewed but did not show up, said Jan Bader, the city’s policy and program manager.