Insider deal for new police chief"

GUILDERLAND — By the end of spring, the town will either have a new police chief or a lawsuit.

On Jan. 3, the Albany County Civil Service department posted an exam announcement to fill the vacancy for Guilderland’s police chief. There was no mention of the post at the town board meeting that night.

Town board newcomers, Republicans Mark Grimm and Warren Redlich, who won their seats on the formerly all-Democratic board in an upset election last fall, are saying that the posting was kept secret by Democratic town Supervisor Kenneth Runion in an effort to promote town hall insiders.
"There’s no opportunity for anybody to be sneaky because Albany County does the scheduling," Runion said yesterday.

Guilderland’s long-time police chief, James Murley, had resigned in May after being suspended following charges of not keeping accurate attendance records, misconduct with a vendor, sexual harassment, and violating the town’s ethics law.

In a letter to Michael Cummings, the director of Albany County’s Civil Service department, Redlich asked that the posting for the March 8 exam be removed since it had not been approved by the town board, which is charged with choosing the police chief.
"The selection of the chief of police will be made by the town board," Runion said yesterday, once the list is complete. According to Civil Service Law, there must be at least three people to choose from, he said.

So far, the list will likely include acting police chief Carol Lawlor and Lieutenant Curtis Cox — the only two people who qualify to take the March promotion class exam. Two people from a list of eligible candidates and sitting chiefs from other departments who may want to transfer to Guilderland will also be on the list, Runion said. He couldn’t recall the names of the two candidates from the Civil Service list and Cummings did not return phone calls from The Enterprise yesterday.
"In all honesty, this may be something to be resolved in the courts," said Redlich, a lawyer, alluding to an Article 78 lawsuit, typically brought by citizens frustrated with government. "We know how to do it and we will," he said of his law firm.
"This is a very big appointment," Grimm said, noting that Murley had been in the post for over 30 years. He retired amid controversy almost a year ago and Lawlor has been at the helm since.
"I think the town board and town supervisor have shown their faith in me by naming me acting chief," Lawlor said when asked how confident she was that she’d get the appointment, she added that two of the town board members who will be voting are different than those who named her acting chief.
"Most likely, the Democratic majority is going to appoint the police chief," Redlich said. "If they want to appoint Carol Lawlor as police chief... they have to do it in public view."

Redlich and Grimm have been critical of what they call the backroom culture of Town Hall; at the last town-board meeting, Redlich introduced a motion to bring the heads of town departments before the board to answer questions and discuss the mechanics of each office. It was defeated along party lines, 3 to 2.
"This is another reason, by the way, we should have department heads come before us," Grimm said when asked if he approved of the job Lawlor has done as acting chief.
"It’s been a good year," said the 30-year veteran of the Guilderland Police force of her tenure as acting chief. "We work well with the administration."

Grimm, who ran on a platform of opening up Town Hall, stressed the importance of drawing from a large pool for chief.
"The Guilderland Police department has been far too political for far too long," Grimm said.