City Council votes down mayor's police chief pick
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Dec. 17—PLATTSBURGH — The City of Plattsburgh Common Council voted down Mayor Chris Rosenquest's police chief candidate five to one Thursday night.
Ward 1 Councilor Jaime Canales was the lone member to vote in favor of appointing Vermont State Police Capt. Michael Manley after a community conversation with Rosenquest and public comment period that predominantly yielded support for City Police Lt. Jarrod Trombley being appointed to the top spot instead.
RIGHT PERSON
During public comment, retired City Police Det. Matt Bell said it is a tradition to hire the chief from within.
"Jarrod is professional, he's proven and honestly the biggest part about him, he's got a big heart," he said.
He also took issue with the search process, citing a lacking background check and lacking transparency, and how Manley would have to undergo additional training in order to be a police officer in New York State.
Det. Christine Minardi said part of the beauty of City Police is the ability to go from being on patrol to rising up the ranks to chief, and that an external hire takes away that dream.
"I can tell you right now Lt. Trombley is qualified," she added. "He's been doing the job of a lieutenant, a captain and a chief in a time where staffing is lower than it's ever been."
Det. Jon Forbes said no one in the department that he has met is as integrity-driven or honest as Trombley.
"So it's my belief that, regardless of people's personal feelings, the person who's best for this job is the person that knows the job, knows the area and knows the people that he works with.
"With the utmost respect for other applicants involved, I certainly feel that Jarrod is the right person for the job."
DEDICATION
Trombley's wife, Hillary, pointed to his familiarity with people and organizations in the community, as well as the sacrifices he has made.
That included two nights this past week where he assisted with the windstorm response and local law enforcement agencies' probe into a threat to schools posted on social media, she said.
"Jarrod's dedication, devotion and sacrifice to the city has never wavered over his 18 years. He has put the city and the department's needs ahead of his own."
Hillary said the positive impact he has made cannot be all for nothing, and advised the mayor and council to "shop local" to fill the chief position.
Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel was the lone person to speak directly on Manley's behalf, saying he has always been available to help and has handled himself in a number of different situations.
He added that Manley demands the best of his officers, and gets it, and would never ask them to do anything he wouldn't do.
BELIEVED FINALIST
Both Bell and Hillary said Lt. Trombley was told by Rosenquest that he was a finalist for chief.
Hillary added that the information was released by WIRY, which is co-owned by one of the Chief of Police Search Committee members — Clinton County Sheriff David Favro — while Bell referenced a text conversation between the mayor and the lieutenant.
The mayor told Trombley that he would be hearing from ETS about a background check, according to a screenshot of the conversation that was provided to the Press-Republican.
"I pushed you to be a finalist for chief," Rosenquest wrote. "There's one other person and you. Both are getting background checks."
He then invited Trombley to chat about the situation.
TEXT CONVERSATION
Councilor Elizabeth Gibbs (D-Ward 3), who with Canales served on the Chief of Police Search Committee, read part of the conversation into the record.
"I thought I'd just share with the public that here is proof that Jarrod was a finalist."
Rosenquest previously told the Press-Republican that the two finalists handed down by the committee were external candidates. Search committee co-chair Hilary Rogers said during the meeting that the mayor was not required to go with either one as the committee was advisory in nature.
The mayor told media after the meeting that he had made it clear to Trombley in a verbal conversation that he was not one of those two.
But once one of them withdrew, that left Trombley to be one of the last people in the process, Rosenquest said. He confirmed that's when the text conversation took place.
"To be fair, I pushed him and Capt. Manley into a background check, but again it still comes down to, comparing skillsets, that's what this is about."
Rosenquest said he wouldn't say that Trombley was a "top two candidate" as the committee had already put those forward.
TABLE MOTION FAILED
Prior to the council's vote, Councilor Jennifer Tallon (D-Ward 4) said the appointment was clearly a contentious issue for the city and that she did not feel the council was ready to vote on it, suggesting that another background check or other action could possibly quell people's objections to Manley.
She also spoke to how compassionate Trombley was in returning a phone call regarding one of her loved ones who died unexpectedly in October, saying she thought he would make a great police chief and that his time would come.
Tallon later made a motion to table voting on the appointment, seconded by Councilor Mike Kelly (D-Ward 2), that was defeated.
QUESTIONED INTEGRITY
Rosenequest told media that he believes what started "this whole downhill political spiral" was when people started questioning the integrity of the committee process.
"It's unfortunate because we really could have used somebody in that department with the amount of command experience that Capt. Manley has to boost the department as well as help some of those other junior officers and junior management to really come up the ranks very effectively."
He said his heart goes out to Manley who "really upended his life" to be part of the process.
"When we go out for a selection like this, we use a committee of experts to help make that decision and then they're called into question and not trusted ... I just think that looks poorly on the City of Plattsburgh."
The mayor claimed everyone understood the process, and that no councilors asked to speak with the committee or the initial two finalists.
BACKGROUND CHECK
Gibbs previously told the Press-Republican that she did not feel the background check was up to the standard of a full law enforcement background check.
Rosenquest said none on the council balked at using ETS to run the check on the two initial finalists.
He said Manley's "secret" level security clearance with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security involved a 10-month process looking into his personal character, financials, work history and personal behavior.
"If that's not a sufficient enough background check to receive that level of security clearance, then what would be?"
REVISIT CIVIL SERVICE
Rosenquest reiterated that his first move earlier this year was to hire internally, an offer made to now-retired part-time Capt. Brad Kiroy.
Asked if community sentiment in favor of an internal promotion would inform the process going forward, Rosenquest said that was a good question and that he would have to revisit civil service rules on the appointment.
He said he thinks a lot of people assume that, just because one person does not get appointed, the job automatically goes to the other person.
"I just don't know what the process is going to be at this point. It certainly isn't, 'Hey, this next person on the list, hire him.'"
Email Cara Chapman:
Twitter: @PPR_carachapman
