Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich told county council members he could name a nominee for police chief in the Maryland county by May.
The news comes after two council members called for more transparency in the selection process of the next chief. Current Police Chief Marcus Jones is retiring effective July 1, after nearly four decades on the force.
In a letter to Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson and Public Safety Committee Chair Council member Sidney Katz, Elrich wrote, “My intention is to evaluate internal departmental candidates first,” and that his first interview could be scheduled for the first week of April.
“I believe there are several internal candidates that offer the combination of skills, experience, temperament, and credibility I am seeking,” Elrich wrote.
If one or more of the potential candidates are seen as “strong contenders,” Elrich said he’d set up “stakeholder engagements” — meetings made up of members of boards and commissions, advocacy groups, faith-based and business communities, as well as the police union.
If efforts to hire an internal candidate fail, Elrich wrote that a national search would be conducted by a search firm. In that case, identifying a candidate to undergo the same process before community groups would “be more protracted.”
Elrich is still in the process of having to select a fire chief after the nomination of his previous pick, Division Chief Charles Bailey, was withdrawn.
On Feb. 28, a memo from the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General stated an unidentified “senior Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service” employee “violated decorum provisions” of regulations having to do with ethics and on-duty personnel conduct.
Asked about that when the report came out, Elrich said he couldn’t comment because it’s a personnel matter.
Asked about the vetting process and the need to find replacements at the top of two public safety agencies, Friedson said it’s the county executive’s job to make the selections, and that “It’s the county’s job to provide advice and consent. We take that role very seriously.”
“These are two of the most important jobs in our county and in our community,” Friedson said.
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