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[The N&O brings down another police chief]

Friday, August 23, 2002 6:13AM EDT

Then there was one Durham police chief job to be offered to remaining finalist, but he's wavering

Durham City Manager Marcia Conner fields questions at a news conference after her choice for the Durham police chief's job, Gregory D. Watkins of Kansas City, Mo., resigned upon disclosure of domestic abuse accusations in his past.

Staff Photo By Robert Willett RELATED STORIES A particular problem for police and spouses

Conner faults consultant's work

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By J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer

DURHAM - One day after the man chosen as Durham's next police chief stepped down amid questions of past domestic abuse allegations, City Manager Marcia Conner said Thursday that she would offer the job to William Carcara, the chief of police in Jefferson County, Ky., and the only person not yet eliminated from the city's tumultuous six-month chief search.

But Carcara said in an interview Thursday that Conner's handling of the search has cooled his interest in Durham, and he will wait until at least next week to decide. In the meantime, he said, he's a finalist for the chief's job in Sarasota, Fla.

"I was very unhappy with the way things were left in Durham," said Carcara, 50. "And I'm a strong candidate there. At this point, I'm not committed to anybody."

Though a formal job offer was not made, both Conner and Carcara said in interviews that the Durham chief's job would be his if he wants it.

Conner phoned Carcara hours after Kansas City Police Department veteran Gregory D. Watkins -- Conner's first pick for the chief's job -- resigned after The News & Observer questioned Conner and Watkins about protection orders sought by two women against Watkins in 1992, as well as two criminal charges that arose out of one of those complaints.

After handing in his resignation letter Wednesday, Watkins said he had made "mistakes in my past that I'm truly sorry for." He resigned to save the city from any embarrassment about his past, he said.

At a news conference Thursday, Conner said she would not reconsider hiring acting Chief Steve Chalmers for the position, despite continuing support among police officers and City Council members for his appointment.

Both Chalmers and Watkins have been arrested on charges related to domestic abuse allegations, records show, though neither was convicted and each continued to climb through the police ranks to the level of deputy chief.

Chalmers has always denied the 1982 abuse charge brought by his then-wife, which was dismissed shortly after it was filed. But Chalmers did not disclose the arrest or a foreclosure action when asked about his past, and he was eliminated from the search, according to Chalmers and a city-hired search firm.

Conner said she peppered Carcara with questions about his history and background, demanding that he disclose anything that would cause more controversy. Both described the following exchange:

"I don't want any other surprises," Conner said.

"There are none," Carcara said.

Later, in the midst of a tense day at City Hall, Conner stood before reporters, police officers and dozens of residents to explain what happened in the span of some "very difficult" hours.

Conner said she has fired the search firm The Oldani Group of Bellevue, Wash., and said she wanted a refund of "at least some" of the $25,500 paid for the search. Oldani representatives have not returned calls seeking comment.

Conner said Oldani officials did not uncover any details of Watkins' past domestic violence allegations, though she said she was aware of a "nasty" divorce and the existence of a criminal case that later was legally erased from the public record.

But Conner said she had immediate concerns about the details of the allegations once she saw records of them during an interview with The N&O on Wednesday.

"I called him in," Conner said about her meeting Wednesday evening with Watkins. "I spoke to him. We went back and forth through a number of things. He then presented me with his resignation ... in my office. And I thanked him for it. I felt that it was an unfortunate situation. But I felt it was in the best interest of the community to move forward."

Conner said she wants to move with "urgency," but she said it will be at least Wednesday before she expects any decisions.

Carcara said he was planning to visit Sarasota on Thursday.

"As soon as I get there, I might not like it," Carcara said. "And I will say that I really liked Durham. I thought I was best for that job. And the issues in Durham are the issues that police officers live for -- the issues are about making a place safer."

Conner said she would wait for a reply from Carcara "before I can even consider moving out for another search."

"We have to conclude the current search," Conner said. "There were in fact three finalists. Two have now been eliminated from the process. We must conclude this process before we can move on to another."

Since 1999, Carcara has served as the top lawman in Jefferson County, which covers the unincorporated areas outside Louisville. He rose to that job after 25 years in the department. He oversees a staff of 741 and a $52 million annual budget, compared with a staff of 578 and a budget of $34 million for the Durham department.

But he will become a victim of a city-county consolidation, which will eliminate his job.

Carcara said he will think hard about coming to Durham.

"The thing that bothers me," he said, "is that even in the wake of all that's happened, people there are still clamoring for Steve [Chalmers]. I wonder if, I get there, will it be a situation where whatever I do will never be good enough."

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2002

Answers

Durham and its police chief, Florida and its DCF head.

New DCF secretary may have tough Senate confirmation

The Associated Press, Posted August 20 2002, 7:38 PM EDT

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's newly appointed child welfare chief met with staff Tuesday as the Senate's likely next leader predicted Gov. Jeb Bush's pick would have a tough confirmation process.

Senators will be paying careful attention to Jerry Regier as he takes over the Department of Children & Families, particularly after he drew fire for ties to a paper expressing extreme Christian views, Sen. Jim King said.

``When he comes for confirmation he will come before a very well-prepared interrogation,'' said King, who will become Senate president if he wins re-election and Republicans hold on to their majority. ``It will not be a walk on the beach simply because it's a gubernatorial appointment. He better be prepared to give concrete statements on his beliefs and his involvements.''

Regier has been criticized for his association with the Coalition on Revival, which funded and issued the 1989 document called ``The Christian World View of the Family.''

The paper said that spanking that causes welts and bruises is OK and that women should not have careers, among other positions. Regier is listed as the group's co-chairman on the document's coversheet, but he said he had nothing to do with writing it and that he does not agree with its content.

``If he thinks for a second that he's going to be able to shrug his shoulders and this will all be forgotten he's going to have an uphill battle,'' King said. ``He's going to have to have a bunch of huge successes before we let him off the dime.''

Regier's confirmation hearing would not occur before the Legislature begins its session in March.

``I'm looking forward very much to meeting Sen. King and ... other members of the Senate,'' Regier said. ``I believe that when I get a chance to sit down with them and answer questions and have discussions, they will be pleased with those answers and we'll be able to move forward.''

King said that other than the criticism surrounding the document, Regier appears to be well qualified.

``I'm sure that if he's even half the person I think he is, he will spend a goodly amount of time talking to legislators and giving them a comfort zone and saying 'This is who I am, this is how I feel, this is how I acted,''' King said. ``But it's a shame he started under a cloud.''

Regier, 57, will replace Kathleen Kearney Sept. 3. Kearney resigned last week following a series of high-profile cases beginning with the revelation in April that 5-year-old Rilya Wilson was missing for at least 15 months from her Miami foster home before the department noticed.

He met with Mike Watkins, the department's director of family safety programs, Tuesday afternoon to get an overview on child welfare issues and recommendations made by a panel Bush appointed to study the agency's problems.

``We're going to be spending some time at DCF and getting some briefings,'' Regier said.

On Wednesday, Regier has eight meetings scheduled with DCF staff and another with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Tim Moore.

``I'm looking forward over the next few weeks to not only talking to them (senators) but other leaders in Florida,'' Regier said. ``As I have the opportunity to interact with people more accurate information will come out.''

Democrats have called for Bush to withdraw the appointment. Republicans are concerned about the news reports, but many say they are willing trust Regier on his disassociation with the paper.

``I just presume what I've read about this appointee is not true,'' said Rep. Nancy Detert, R-Venice and a member of the House Select Committee on Oversight of DCF. ``If that story is accurate, I would have some reservations about his appointment. I would hope that anyone would.''

She added that the last thing the department needs is more controversy.

``He is getting off to a bad start,'' Detert said. ``It doesn't pay to come in with a negative like that and I don't know how much of that is politics and how much of that is truth. It's hard to make the kind of reforms we need in DCF in a highly charged political atmosphere.''

Sen. Bert Saunders gave firm support for Regier.

``I am confident that the governor has made a good selection in terms of someone who can turn that agency around,'' said Saunders, R-Naples. ``It's an agency that has failed in numerous respects - in some cases literally ruining the lives or costing the lives of innocent children. That's where the focus needs to be, at what can we do to correct the deficiencies.''

Regier served as the Oklahoma cabinet secretary for social services for five years, completing his tenure in January. He is also credited with cleaning up fraud in that state's Department of Health.

Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-0820dcfconfirmation .story?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dflorida

a link to some other stories

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-dcfstorygallery.sto rygallery?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dflorida



-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002


Looks as if these search firms are going to have to go back more than ten years to check for problems. It will cost far more than what they're getting now but probably will equal the cost of cleaning up the mess over these screw-ups.

What the Durham reports haven't yet said is that one of the questions asked of the applicant is if there is anything in their background that might come back to aunt them. Obviously, the answer in this case was no, which meant the latest ex-police chief either lied or didn't think his record was material. Either way, he has bad judgment.

There was another article where Watkins was quoted as saying, words to the effect, that "people" brought him down, that "people" snatched something away from him. Blaming others for his own mistakes. . .

After Carcara reads today that a majority of the City Council wants Steve Chalmers as police chief, I doubt he will accept the Durham job, even if Sarasota doesn't offer him their job.

What's going on here is the race card. Carcara is white; Watkins and Chalmers are black. The mayor is black and the city manager is black. Efforts have long been underway to dislodge the superintendent of schools, who is white.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002


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