Item 3D: Appointment to Police Commission

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ATTACHMENT B Police Commission August 2, 2010 Honorable Mayor Kitty Piercy 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, OR 97401 Dear Mayor Piercy, In June of this year, one member of the Police Commission, Brooke Dodge, elected to resign. Following a two and a half week recruitment process, three members from the community applied to fill the position. Shortly after the recruitment period closed, the commission learned that member Marilyn Nelson also decided to resign as of November 1, 2010. Thus, the Police Commission now has two vacancies. Because we did not announce both vacancies to the public, we request that another recruitment period be held for Ms. Nelson’s position, and seek a new applicant pool. Upon your approval, we will begin that process in the next few weeks. Some timelines for you to note: The candidate selected for Ms. Dodge’s position will begin immediately and expire on June 30, 2012. The candidate selected for Ms. Nelson’s position will begin November 1, 2010 and expire June 30, 2011 (Ms. Nelson originally started her position mid- way through another member’s term). This past Friday, a team of three Police Commission members (Tamara Miller, Chair; Juan Carlos Valle, Vice Chair; and Marilyn Nelson) plus one staff member met the three applicants for an informational meeting. The purpose of the meetings was to develop a recommendation for applicants who seemed most qualified to take on the important work of the commission, and would help maintain a membership that is reflective of our community. Some characteristics of interest included age, gender, ethnicity, location of residence, perspectives/life experience, and connections with other community groups. Each applicant was evaluated on responses to questions regarding their experience developing policy and resource recommendations, their opinions on the three most critical policing issues facing the City, and their suggestions on how they would ascertain what community values are for Eugene residents. The panel ranked each applicant on their proficiency in each category by assigning a number of 1 through 7 (7 being most proficient), and produced a composite score for each question. The following is the results summary of each candidate, as observed by the panel: Jim Garner: 24.5 Composite score of Jesse Lohrke:21 Composite score of Stephen Joers:18 Composite score of Each candidate represented their community with different qualities, and demonstrated varying levels of experience in governance. We believe all three are acceptable, however, if you do not concur with our observations on these candidates, we will support a decision to reopen the recruitment process. We have attached our notes on each candidate to this letter. Since its inception, the Police Commission has had a diverse and dedicated membership that is representative of the community it serves, and we are appreciative of the consideration given to the appointment process. We understand that this will be a difficult selection for you, and hope that these We strive to create a climate of mutual respect and partnership between the community and the Police Department that helps achieve safety, justice and freedom for all people in Eugene.