Does Taylor Seek Gun Control Advocate As Chief?
Is Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor looking for a gun control advocate as Tulsa's new chief of police? Some 2nd Amendment advocates believe so, and they note today that Taylor, a member of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's coalition of mayors pushing for more gun laws, is trying to keep secret the names of applicants. Some believe she is doing so to prevent pre-selection research of the candidates and their records on the 2nd Amendment.
Word about Taylor's attempt to keep the names under wraps came today in a revealing Tulsa World article, which reports that at least three Tulsa Police Department supervisors will compete to be the next police chief despite attempts by Taylor to keep the candidates' names confidential. The World reports that Deputy Chief Bill Wells, Maj. Rob Turner and Maj. Paul Williams all confirmed their candidacies.
Monday was the deadline for internal applications to be submitted, but Taylor would not identify the candidates.
"At this point, this is a civil service process and an internal personnel issue," she said in a statement. "As such, just like in private business, I will respect the applicants' right to privacy and do not intend to release the names of the candidates."
Her predecessors, the World reports, conducted their police chief searches as open processes and revealed the names of applicants, even though it isn't required by the state Open Records Act.
Wells and Turner were among the candidates in the last police chief search, conducted by then-Mayor Bill LaFortune in 2002. The names of the four internal candidates in that search were released shortly after they applied. LaFortune chose Police Chief Dave Been, who will retire this spring.
In a police chief search in 1992, during the transition of the Rodger Randle and Susan Savage administrations, the names of the five internal applicants were revealed. City officials ended up looking outside the department, and the names of those finalists were released as well.
Taylor began her search late last year, saying she welcomed public scrutiny and advice.
"I think talking to the citizens is essential to finding the right person to be Tulsa's police chief," she said at the time, adding that it was part of an effort to achieve transparency in government.
Taylor's spokeswoman Kim MacLeod said she didn't know whether Taylor will ever reveal the names of candidates.
The job has a salary range of $86,052 to $149,016, the World reports. Internal candidates must be ruled out before Taylor can look outside the department. Recent revisions to the city's hiring policies would allow Taylor to hire an external candidate even if qualified internal candidates applied. The city is working with a California firm, Bob Murray & Associates, on the search.
Murray & Associates, which specializes in executive searches, is being paid $30,500, plus up to $13,500 in expenses by a local nonprofit organization, the Tulsa Police Foundation. Taylor's every move as mayor is being monitored by gun rights advocates. She was a founding member of Bloomberg's gun control coalition and attended a meeting at Gracie Mansion in New York. She subsequently showed up in Chicago for a meeting with other mayors who outlined a gun control agenda opposed by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Bloomberg's group is meeting today in Washington and Taylor reportedly will be among the attendees. Here are the comments of some of Taylor's seatmates in the Bloomberg coalition: "The presence of guns on our streets and in our communities hurts our quality of life. I am proud to join the Mayors' Coalition Against Illegal Guns and stand with my fellow mayors in the fight against gun violence in our cities."--Mayor Mike Fahey, Omaha, NE. "America's Mayors are on the forefront of the battle against crime and gun violence. I look forward to sharing best practices in the State of California and City of Los Angeles with other Mayors and learning about strategies others have used to reduce gun deaths in their cities."--Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,Los Angeles, CA. "Gun violence is a non-partisan issue. All citizens need to know what a terrible impact that guns in general, and illegal guns specifically, have and how they are contributing to the violence in our communities."--Mayor William "Bill" Bell, Durham, NC.
Word about Taylor's attempt to keep the names under wraps came today in a revealing Tulsa World article, which reports that at least three Tulsa Police Department supervisors will compete to be the next police chief despite attempts by Taylor to keep the candidates' names confidential. The World reports that Deputy Chief Bill Wells, Maj. Rob Turner and Maj. Paul Williams all confirmed their candidacies.
Monday was the deadline for internal applications to be submitted, but Taylor would not identify the candidates.
"At this point, this is a civil service process and an internal personnel issue," she said in a statement. "As such, just like in private business, I will respect the applicants' right to privacy and do not intend to release the names of the candidates."
Her predecessors, the World reports, conducted their police chief searches as open processes and revealed the names of applicants, even though it isn't required by the state Open Records Act.
Wells and Turner were among the candidates in the last police chief search, conducted by then-Mayor Bill LaFortune in 2002. The names of the four internal candidates in that search were released shortly after they applied. LaFortune chose Police Chief Dave Been, who will retire this spring.
In a police chief search in 1992, during the transition of the Rodger Randle and Susan Savage administrations, the names of the five internal applicants were revealed. City officials ended up looking outside the department, and the names of those finalists were released as well.
Taylor began her search late last year, saying she welcomed public scrutiny and advice.
"I think talking to the citizens is essential to finding the right person to be Tulsa's police chief," she said at the time, adding that it was part of an effort to achieve transparency in government.
Taylor's spokeswoman Kim MacLeod said she didn't know whether Taylor will ever reveal the names of candidates.
The job has a salary range of $86,052 to $149,016, the World reports. Internal candidates must be ruled out before Taylor can look outside the department. Recent revisions to the city's hiring policies would allow Taylor to hire an external candidate even if qualified internal candidates applied. The city is working with a California firm, Bob Murray & Associates, on the search.
Murray & Associates, which specializes in executive searches, is being paid $30,500, plus up to $13,500 in expenses by a local nonprofit organization, the Tulsa Police Foundation. Taylor's every move as mayor is being monitored by gun rights advocates. She was a founding member of Bloomberg's gun control coalition and attended a meeting at Gracie Mansion in New York. She subsequently showed up in Chicago for a meeting with other mayors who outlined a gun control agenda opposed by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Bloomberg's group is meeting today in Washington and Taylor reportedly will be among the attendees. Here are the comments of some of Taylor's seatmates in the Bloomberg coalition: "The presence of guns on our streets and in our communities hurts our quality of life. I am proud to join the Mayors' Coalition Against Illegal Guns and stand with my fellow mayors in the fight against gun violence in our cities."--Mayor Mike Fahey, Omaha, NE. "America's Mayors are on the forefront of the battle against crime and gun violence. I look forward to sharing best practices in the State of California and City of Los Angeles with other Mayors and learning about strategies others have used to reduce gun deaths in their cities."--Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,Los Angeles, CA. "Gun violence is a non-partisan issue. All citizens need to know what a terrible impact that guns in general, and illegal guns specifically, have and how they are contributing to the violence in our communities."--Mayor William "Bill" Bell, Durham, NC.
Labels: 2nd Amendment, GOA, Gun Control, Kathy Taylor, Michael Bloomberg, NRA, NSSF, Tulsa Police Chief
posted by Mike McCarville @ 10:16 AM
<< Home