City of Ithaca
Chief of Police Search Process
Cohen and Council engage in a power struggle
The most controversial of these issues is a new law that would make the procedure for selecting a police chief the same as that for selecting any other City department head. Cohen vetoed this law because, “The police department and the chief’s position are unique. They cannot be equated with any other department.”
Cohen explains that he is working on the selection process for the new chief, but is not ready to unveil it. “I want to make sure that this [appointment] is done the right way, not like the appointment process for the judge.” Shortly after taking office in January, Cohen took a lot of heat for the appointment process that he instituted to appoint the part-time judge. “I wasn’t the one who politicized the judge’s appointment,” says the mayor.
For his police chief selection process, Cohen stresses inclusiveness and community involvement and criticized the plan proposed by Council. “The selection process used for other management positions does not speak about public input at all,” says the mayor. “It is critical to have a selection committee that mirrors the constituency.”
Alderperson Tom Hanna (4th Ward) says, “Search committees usually have a very broad latitude. They can hold public meetings if they want.” Hanna explains that in the process used for other city department heads, the search committee comes up with the three best candidates and the mayor chooses one to send forward for Council’s approval.
The only detail of his police chief selection process that Cohen would reveal is that Council will be involved in some form, but “the ultimate decision will be the mayor’s.” Hanna criticized Cohen’s process by saying, “The whole deal about [the mayor’s proposal] is that it is a voluntary process.”
Cohen said that the power to appoint his choices to the City Planning and Development Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals, unhindered by Council’s approval, will allow him to “influence the direction of city policies. I already see the Planning board as being more reasonable,” he says.
Hanna contends, “This mayor has an instinct to go for the participatory decision making, rather than authoritarian decision making, and that that includes thinking less about the powers of the individual and influencing policy by participation, rather than by direct decision making.”
At the time these eight ordinances were approved by council, there were enough votes to overturn the mayor’s veto, Hanna stresses that this was “a veto against putting this up to the public for a decision” rather than vetoing Common Council. Members of council have criticized Cohen, suggesting that his delay will require either a special election, or would move the referendums to a non-Presidential ballot.
Cohen feels these criticisms are unjustified. “From my experience local political issues are usually subsumed by Presidential politics.” The mayor says he will campaign against these initiatives if they are put to a vote next year.
-Sarah Benson
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