Of the four City Council members at Monday night’s meeting, there was no doubt that Meghan Sahli-Wells held the sternest views on the most animating issue:
Whether governing power over the police and fire departments should be changed from the City Council to the city manager. Ms. Sahli-Wells holds that both agencies, but especially the police, should be answerable only to elected officials not an appointed executive.
Wait a moment, says Mayor Jim Clarke, who voted on the winning side to advance the proposal to the voters on Nov. 8.
A distinction should be drawn between police and fire, he contends.
“I don’t put the fire chief in the same category as the police chief,” Mr. Clarke said.
The mayor asked and answered his own questions
“I mean, have you ever heard of a Fire Accountability Commission? No.
“Or civilian oversight for a fire department? No.
“There is just not an issue about that,” Mr. Clarke said. “Whether the fire chief reports to us or the city manager is really not (relevant).”
The debate was, who should be in charge of the police chief?
“There is some merit,” said Mr. Clarke, to Ms. Sahli-Wells’s contention that police will be more responsive to the elected City Council rather than the non-elected city manager, John Nachbar.”
The mayor suggested Culver City was bucking a national wave.
“In this day and age, with all of the police accountability issues, it seemed as if we were going in the opposite direction” by replacing the Council as overseer with Mr. Nachbar.
“The perception,” said Mr. Clarke, “and I am sure the argument that will be made against this charter amendment, is that we have introduced less accountability.”
(To be continued)
