McGinn says Mallahan is delaying search for new police chief; Mallahan calls it a stunt

Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn accuses opponent Joe Mallahan of delaying the search for a police chief at a press conference at 23rd and Union on Friday. A bullet hole is to his left. (Seattle PostGlobe)

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Seattle mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan responded to Mike McGinn's allegations that Mallahan is delaying the search for a new police chief.

Mallahan said in a statement, “Mike McGinn should be ashamed of himself for playing political games with such an important public safety issue."

 
McGinn, attempting to draw distinctions between himself and Mallahan, had blamed his opponent for politicizing and stalling the search for a new police chief.

McGinn, standing by a bullet hole in the side of the closed Philadelphia cheese steak restaurant at the high-crime corner of 23rd Avenue and Union Street, cited a Seattle Times report. It said Mayor Greg Nickels “had asked candidates Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn if they would be willing to let a search committee begin looking for police-chief candidates before the election, as long as the victor was allowed to make the selection."

The Times, quoting Nickels spokesman Alex Fryer, reported that “McGinn agreed, but Mallahan opposed the idea.”

Charla Neuman, Mallahan's campaign spokeswoman, told the Times that Mallahan would like the search to begin after the election so it can be given serious thought and not get caught up in the politics of the campaign.

In a statement after McGinn's press conference, Mallahan said, "Of course he wants the process to go on without him, because he doesn’t take public safety seriously and doesn’t have anything to add. Finding a new police chief to lead our city’s is an important task — too important to play political games with.  We will do a robust search for a highly qualified police chief who represents our values and will make it a priority to work with the city’s diverse neighborhoods to meet all of our public safety needs. The search will resume as soon as we can be certain it will not fall victim to political stunts like the one my opponent pulled today.”

Mallahan had said he'd put more police on the streets. McGinn has laid out a position paper on public safety -- one on several issues he has released. In it, McGinn talks about the need for more prevention. A former head of the Greenwood Community Council, McGinn said neighborhood leaders should have a seat at the table in discussing public safety initiatives. He also calls for more enforcement of gun crimes and restoring the police gang unit.

However, McGinn, who has been highlighting his broader experience in city issues, said he has served on the search committee for the director of the city's neighborhoods department. He said a public search committee could have begun gearing up for the typically lengthy search process and it could have begun collecting public input in the qualities sought in the next chief. As a result, he said Mallahan has delayed the hiring of a permanent chief for four-to-six months.

The police department has been headed by interim chief John Diaz since former chief Gil Kerlikowske left to be the nation’s drug czar in May.

McGinn said his remarks weren’t a knock on Diaz, but said an interim chief cannot be as effective in moving ahead on dealing with the city’s serious crime issues.

Neuman did not immediately return for comment on Friday.

The press conference comes at a stage in the campaign, when the most recent KING5/Survey USA poll shows McGinn and Mallahan to be in a dead heat with less than a month before the Nov. 3 elections and less than a week before absentee ballots are mailed to voters on October 14.

McGinn was asked by reporters if he was not the one politicizing the police search process by calling the press conference.

McGinn said public safety has been an issue in the campaign.