New Police Chief Sworn In

In a brief ceremony this morning at City Hall, Mr. Bill Press was sworn in as Chief of Fairhope Police by Circuit Judge James Reid who observed: " (In my experience) . . . Its unusual for any political body to come together unanimously on one candidate." Before the swearing in, Council President Quinn thanked Councilman Dan Stankoski, other Search Committee members , and City Personnel Director Rhonda White for "their hours/weeks/months of hard work (beginning last January)" soliciting/reviewing the 116 applications that were submitted. Quinn also thanked former interim Chief Terry Sanders (who was present for the ceremony) for "jumping in" with: "We threw you into the briar patch . . . without time to acclimate." Introducing Mr. Press -- Quinn called him "the cream of the crop" of all applicants. After being sworn in--Chief Press (after admitting he's "not a speech person") said he was "humbled" by the appointment and promised to listen to everyone and "work collectively as a team to take the organization to even higher heights." "My door will always be open," he concluded; but, "At the end of the day, the buck stops here." After being invited to speak by President Quinn, Mayor Kant said that the Police Dept. " has seen its ups and downs the last 4 years" but "now has a new leader to take it to the next level." "The Council and I don't always agree but hopefully we'll learn from our mistakes to make things better." "I'm just as guilty as anyone for saying things I shouldn't." "I can tell Chief Press has a heart and look forward to working with him," Kant concluded. A significant number of police officers--as well as fomer Chief Mike Commalander-- were present as well. Councilman Ford-- who along with the Mayor had previously only supported "internal" candidates for the job--did not attend.

Comments

Shellback said…
Let's hope the Mayor and Ford don't try to torpedo this guy too because they didn't get their man installed. Press seems like a fine fellow. I like that 'the buck stops here' stuff! no nonsense
Anonymous said…
out of the frying pan (Miami) and into the fire (Southern fried Alabama small town back room politics)
Anonymous said…
I am excited about an outsider becoming the new leader for the fairhope police department. I think the quick retirement of griffis was interesting although i would like to have known all about his . . . activities. Now the department can march to a new beat, one with honesty.
Family Man said…
Our family wishes the new Chief lots of luck and success. God bless our new Chief and all his Officers!!
mamamia said…
The vast majority of us want the new Chief to succeed and our Police Dept. to thrive, but there's definitely an evil minority out there with its own agenda--seeking political advantage-- who hopes he'll fail.
Pirate Dad said…
lets all try and help him be successful