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February 6

Our View: Search shows Portland had right chief all along

The continuity provided by a longtime police department member is what the city needs.

Tonight the City Council will do what a lot of people in Portland thought they should have done months ago: confirm Michael Sauschuck as the new chief of police.

Sauschuck has been a member of the department since 1997 and spent the last two years as deputy chief under former Chief James Craig. When Craig left Portland last year to take the job of chief in Cincinnati, Sauschuck was a logical choice to replace him.

Some in the city, including the editorial board of this newspaper, thought this was one time that the city could save the money that would be spent on a national search and just hire from a field of strong internal candidates that included Sauschuck.

Craig had introduced a lot of new ideas for how the department approached its work and used technology and it made sense to turn to someone who would build on those efforts and not start over.

But even with the ultimate selection of Sauschuck by City Manager Mark Rees, holding a national search was probably the right thing to do. Sauschuck comes to the job with the authority of being selected to a desirable job in a highly competitive process. The fact that the best person for the job turned out to be a member of the department already doesn't mean his promotion was inevitable: It wasn't just his turn; he was selected.

Sauschuck takes over a department that has had to be creative, introducing new ideas and programs at a time when there aren't more resources to work with. Sauschuck has done this as deputy and interim chief, maintaining good relations with the public, City Hall and members of his department, including other candidates for the chief's job.

In an interview when his appointment was announced, Sauschuck said real police work is not what people are used to seeing on TV.

"I realized very early on it is about communications skills and building relationships," Sauschuck said. "That's really where the rubber meets the road."

The city had the right officer for the chief's job already on staff and it has a successful search to prove it. The City Council should finish the job, and confirm Sauschuck tonight.

 

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