Both Wizard and Michelle have made a good case for their position. I, myself, am not going to say hire from the inside or hire from the outside, though, given the city's current serious budget crunch, the Mayor may have at least a little explaining to do if he ends up hiring someone from the inside after paying a consultant firm to do a nationwide search. Not that consultants are always a bad thing, but Rybak showed poor judgement during his first month in office when he hired a touchy-feely consultant (who turned out to be a contributor of his, no less) to encourage our councilmembers to play nice with each other after Barrett Lane had his feelings hurt when his colleagues made Barb Johnson chair of the Ways and Means Committee. (Poor judgement on the council's part, I must admit, CM Lane would've been a much better choice, but when he or other Minneapolis councilmembers should insist on sulking after they don't get their own way, then it's up to their constituents say "Grow up or else." This would save the unnecessary expense of applied pseudo psychology. )
If the Mayor ends up hiring from the inside, he should at least select an officer with a history of whistle-blowing who has proven that s/he is not afraid to stand up to rogue cops and their main apologist, John Delmonico. And whether the officer comes from the inside our outside, s/he ought to be a resident of Minneapolis. While residency requirements cannot be legally mandated, due to actions taken by our state legislators, it's going to be even more difficult to convince the rank and file to live in the city they serve if, let's say, Officer Dolan from Edina is appointed. And let's face it, folks, hiring and retaining police officers who don't live in Minneapolis will only undermine the community-service model of police protection, making us citizens feel like we're being occupied by military troops from the suburbs who have little or no understanding of urban culture at best, or outright contempt for city folks at worst. As we all know, a good leader is someone who can convince others to do what they're not naturally inclined to do. Therefore, a Police Chief with strong leadership skills will convince the rank and file that it is in every officer's best interest to live in the city; s/he'll convince the citizens of Minneapolis that they have to be willing to pay higher taxes for better police service so that our officers won't have to work one or two extra jobs in order to make ends meet; s/he'll convince citizens and officers alike that officers ought to have their job duties diversified more so that they're spending part of their shifts helping out in public schools, homeless shelters, day care centers, food banks, nursing homes, community support programs for those with mental illness, and parks and recreations centers. Think about it, folks. Despite my vociferous criticisms of rogue cops, I at least realize that if I were to spend my entire work day interacting with criminals, I too, would become every bit as jaded and mean as our most abusive cops. A good leader/police chief won't be afraid to tell the Mayor, City Council and citizens of Minneapolis: "We need to raise our taxes so our officers can have better psychological services, because we all know how stressful their jobs can be. We need to raise our taxes so our officers can spend more time with their families and loved ones instead of trying to make ends meet with off-duty work. We need to raise our taxes so that our officers can spend part of their days off the mean streets of Minneapolis and interact more with law-abiding citizens, because if they are always pitted against criminals and risking their lives they'll turn into high-intensity junkies, which won't serve anyone well. We need to raise our taxes because we ultimately get what we pay for." Finally, a good leader/police chief will relish in controversy and politics and not be afraid to lead the public out of a counterproductive drug war that is ruining our cities nationwide.------Peter Schmitz CARAG REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
