City Names Police Chief Selection Committee

The City of Somerville has revealed the names of the selection committee that will seek out our next Police Chief. The following people will meet for the next few months and finish with a candidate that will be submitted to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for consideration.

Chairing the Committee will be Personnel Director Bill Roche and will include:

· Alderman at Large John Connolly;

· Sonja Darai, Director of the Somerville Multicultural Affairs Commission (per City ordinance);

· Dorothy Kelly Gay, resident (BOA Appointee);

· Adrianna Lafaille, resident (BOA Appointee);

· Sassiane Estany, Teen Empowerment Associate Program Coordinator (Mayor Appointee);

· Effrain Mendoza, resident (Mayor Appointee);

· Mike Kiely, Somerville Police Department, Somerville Police Patrolmen Association

· Dan Cotter, Somerville Police Department, Somerville Police Superior Officers’ Association

The Selection Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 11, at 6 p.m. in the Academy Room of the Public Safety Building to discuss the timeline for the search, the public hearing held last week and the public survey that will be available on the City’s website and in hard copy at locations throughout the city. The committee’s meetings are open to the public.

The City has gone through the search process in 2007 and 2010 with both candidates leaving the City before their contract ended. In 2005, the Board of Aldermen removed the position of Police Chief out of Civil Service after Mayor Joe Curtatone submitted an ordinance that included a public process and the inclusion of specific representatives at the bargaining table. Curtatone's ordinance approval came after the Board vetoed Michael Capuano and Dorothy Kelly Gay's attempts at removing the position.

The press release also states, "Community members can provide feedback through the online survey that will be posted to the City website, rating the importance of various police chief candidate attributes. Paper copies of the survey will also be available at the Somerville Police Department, City Hall Welcome Desk, all Somerville Public Schools, and the Central Library and its East and West Branches. The collected community feedback will then be provided to the Police Chief Selection Committee and used to draft the brochure that will advertise the open police chief position." Ward 5 Online will also provide the link to the survey for the convenience of our readers.

Police Chief Finalists will be presented to the community for a citywide interview later this year. Mayor Curtatone is expected to make a final recommendation to the Board of Aldermen in fall 2014.