Oakland mayor wants more power when it comes to hiring police chief

OAKLAND, Calif. - The city of Oakland is still without a permanent police chief – almost exactly a year after Mayor Sheng Thao put the former chief on leave and then fired him a month later.

Now, the mayor tells KTVU she's frustrated with the process of hiring a new police chief and wants Oakland voters to help her change it. 

Thao said this week that she wants to introduce a ballot measure that would give the mayor's office more power when it comes to hiring a new police chief.

Last February, Thao fired then-Chief LeRonne Armstrong.

Under the city charter, members of the Oakland Police Commission have to find and select candidates for the police chief. The mayor can only choose from that slate of candidates.

Last month, Thao rejected all three candidates the commission gave her.

That short list included Armstrong, a man Thao said she would never hire again. 

The mayor's office and the commission accused each other of playing politics.

Now, the mayor says the commission shouldn't be involved in the police chief hiring process at all.

"Elected officials, we're the ones who hold accountability to the people," Thao said in an interview this week.  "It shouldn't be a non-paid, citizen advisory board that chooses who the police chief is. It really should be the COO of the city. And that is the mayor." 

Changing the process would require Oakland voters to approve a change in the city charter.

This is not something that would appear on the ballot for the next election in March; that would be too soon. 

The police commission said after the mayor rejected their three candidates last month, they had to go back to square one and find new candidates.

They're not expected to have a list for another, several months; later this spring is the estimate right now.

The commissioners have refused all comment about the chief, issuing a statement last month declaring a media blackout.