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St. Petersburg sizes up finalists for police chief
By MIKE BRASSFIELD
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- Scores of St. Petersburg residents got their first look Wednesday at the four contenders to be their next police chief. The city hosted a public reception with the finalists for the chief's job, and people took the opportunity to conduct their own job interviews with the candidates. They asked about the bread-and-butter issues that matter to them. What, they asked, will St. Petersburg's next police chief do about drugs, speeders and loud music? Will he put more cops on the street? Mayor Rick Baker plans to name a new chief next month, and there appears to be no front-runner for the job. Baker and his top staffers interviewed the four finalists Wednesday and will meet today to consider their next steps, which might include bringing in the candidates for a second round of interviews. The city must replace Chief Goliath Davis III, who will become a deputy mayor Oct. 5. The four candidates for the $111,400-a-year chief's job are: Chuck Harmon, St. Petersburg's assistant police chief of patrol. Harmon, 41, is helping Davis run the department's daily operations. Luther Hunter, commander of school services for Nashville police. Hunter, 51, faced controversy earlier this year, accused of intimidating an officer who pulled him over. Patrick Stephens, a Cleveland deputy police chief who supervises three times the number of officers that St. Petersburg has. Stephens, 44, is one of three finalists to be chief in Dayton, Ohio. Mack Vines, who was St. Petersburg's chief from 1974 to 1980. Vines, 62, became chief in Charlotte, N.C., Cape Coral and then Dallas, where he was fired. He ran St. Petersburg's police academy for most of the 1990s but had a tumultuous end to that job. Wednesday evening, the four men stood in the four corners of a basketball-court-sized room at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. Scores of community activists, politicians and ordinary neighborhood residents drifted in and out during a 21/2-hour reception. They assembled in clusters around the would-be police chiefs, who sipped ice water and fielded questions. Brian Krone, a salesman who plans to become a police officer, wanted to know what the candidates would do about morale and racial tension within the department. Tammye Moore of Pinellas Point tried to figure out whether their management styles would be proactive or reactive. Sharon Russ wanted to know what the next chief would do about violence and crime in her neighborhood, Bartlett Park. "That's my question," Russ said. "That has always been my question." A lot of people knew Vines. Many asked what he would do differently now. Vines said he would draw on his broader experience, having been a police chief in four cities. Harmon responded to questions about community policing and about issues as diverse as traffic, designer drugs and shutting down a rave club. The out-of-town candidates, Hunter and Stephens, each praised the drug treatment center that St. Petersburg is creating. "We can arrest all the dopers you want," Stephens told a questioner, "but we have to dry up the demand." Political insiders think Harmon and Vines are the favorites to get the job, although the out-of-town finalists were getting a lot of attention Wednesday. In the end, it will be the mayor's decision. Baker described Wednesday's job interviews as "very good give-and-take dialogue." The City Council has no role in choosing the chief, but several council members had questions for the candidates Wednesday. "Baker has done more to get our input than any other mayor has with their council," said council member Bill Foster. "What he does with our input, I don't know. I'm hoping he heeds our words."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
