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Hiring process questioned as new chief ready to begin Jan. 10
By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
When former Healdsburg Police Chief Susan Jones was hired in July to run Cotati’s police department on a 6-month interim basis, city officials said she would play a key role in the search for a permanent police chief for the city of 7,500.
Susan Jones
But Jones, whose contract ended Wednesday, departed feeling that the city’s top administrator froze her out of major parts of the recruitment and hiring process and at one point misled her in a way that she said briefly tarnished her credibility among her professional peers.
“I was hired to help in the recruitment process and I felt as though I was unable to, and it was frustrating,” said Jones, whom the city paid about $29,000 for six months work.
She said the police department was included to a far lesser degree in the process of recruitment and hiring than promised by City Manager Dianne Thompson, who had said a police officer would sit on an interview panel.
“That was ultimately her decision,” Jones said, “but I was disappointed, because I think it would have been important to have someone sit in just to help validate the process.”
Thompson announced Dec. 23 that a UC Merced Police Commander, Michael Parish, would be the new chief, starting Jan. 10 at a salary of $115,101.
Thompson said including an officer in the process had been part of an earlier “discussion,” but that it had not seemed appropriate to include an officer on an interview panel without also including a supervisor.
“It was not appropriate” to include a supervisor in the process of hiring “their new boss,” so the idea was dropped, Thompson said.
Jones did not question Parish’s qualifications, but said the selection process was illustrative of a management style that has bred a degree of mistrust between the police department and city administrators.
“It’s pretty deep,” she said. “It’s the lack of information, it’s the holding back, and not being forthright with employees, all of this secretive behind-the-scenes thing.”
Mayor Robert Coleman-Senghor said he was “disconcerted” that as an outgoing chief, Jones had discussed an internal process. But he said that she had raised points that were nonetheless a “matter of concern.”
“And I will follow up on it as a councilman,” said Coleman-Senghor, whose mayoral term ends Jan. 12.
Thompson said she appreciated Jones’ contributions but that the process had gone as intended, adding, “I appreciate Susan’s assistance in helping us find the best candidate.”
Jones said there was also a “discrepancy” in the way Thompson, who oversaw the recruitment, described the hiring process Parish went through.
She said Parish did not take part in a second, final stage of candidate interviews that Thompson said he went through.
“He didn’t go through that second panel,” said Jones, who sat on the panel along with Novato’s police chief and city administrators from Santa Rosa and Cloverdale.
She said Parish was one of about 10 candidates who met with a first panel — that she did not sit on — but that he was not one of the two candidates that the panel recommended for further interviews.
Councilman Mark Landman said he was surprised Parish did not meet with the second panel.
“My understanding was that he had,” Landman said. “That was based on my assumption that he had been interviewed, that’s what I was told.”
Thompson on Friday, in an email, acknowledged that Parish — whom she said was “highly ranked” by the first panel — did not take part in the second panel. She said that she “did not intend,” in earlier accounts of the process, to say that he had taken part.
Landman said he was untroubled that part of the process had not taken place.
“I’m very comfortable. I think we’ve got a very good pick for chief. I believe he was credibly vetted,” he said.
As to Jones’ concerns, Landman, referring to the recruitment process, said: “I’d say she did 90 percent of it.”
He said, “She’s very respected, she did a lot of good work for Cotati, if she didn’t feel that she was involved as she should be, that’s unfortunate.”
Jones said that Thompson misled her about the salary range for the new chief, leading to a misunderstanding that torpedoed negotiations with the selection panel’s first choice.
She said that based on what Thompson had told her, she told the candidate, Menlo Park Police Commander, Lacey Burt, that the range was to be $130,000 to $135,000.
“That’s my word going out there, telling candidates, this is what the pay is,” said Jones.
She said when she confronted Thompson about the matter, “She said, ‘I misspoke.’”
Thompson said that the salary was advertised as negotiable, based on qualifications.
After negotiations with Burt failed, Jones said, Thompson “stopped talking to me about the process…at that point she left me out of the whole loop. She kept me in the dark.”
She learned that Parish was hired from a city press release, Jones said.
Thompson said, “Following the second panel interview, I took over the process, as planned, to conduct final interviews and make a final selection. This is our normal process for hiring department heads.”
Editor’s Note: Former Cotati Interim Police Chief Susan Jones worked part time and was paid $29,000 between July and Dec. 29 when her contract with the city ended. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect amount.
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This is Staff Writer Jeremy Hay. I wrote the article. I noticed Heather’s comment and wanted to respond (as well as apologize for the initial mistake and any confusion it caused). Susan Jones was paid $65 an hour and worked part-time for Cotati as its interim police chief, receiving a total of $29,000 (her initial arrangement was to work full-time). Her only other compensation was a city car to drive to and from work. Thanks for commenting, everyone.
Ms. Jones, I see the paper has corrected the story to say your compensation was $29,900. And I read that in your comments as well. I hope you are not splitting hairs and seperating fringe benefits such as a hefty auto allowance and other perks to say you only made $29,900 when it has been reported numerous times that your contract was for $65,000.
Such parsing of words would not seem all that transparent to me.
Nothing Cotati does matters. Jones got paid for her work and advice. If Cotati’s leaders don’t follow it, so what?
At the next election vote them all out of office.
Cotati really should just contract with the Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement anyway.
Cotati has not been even slightly important since the Wells Fargo stagecoach stopped going there.
Whoever the new chief turns out to be, there’s nothing he can do to make a difference unless he’s out picking up dead animals or fixing potholes in the street as part of his duties.
Maybe he can convince Cotati’s officers to quit writing so many CS traffic tickets? Nickel and dimeing the honest citizen is not the path to solvency.
I want the Cotati officers kicking in the doors of burglars and meth labs and grow ops and chop shops and arresting the punks who graffiti every possible exposed surface.
Cotati is a hole. Cover it over already.
So, Chief Jones, secondary issues of money and Jeremy’s sources aside (I see he edited the amount in the article), is it your feeling that Cotati’s City Manager purposely hindered you in fulfilling one of your key responsibilities, as you understood it? Why do you think that was? I can appreciate your candor in answering Jeremy’s questions, but regardless, the lid is off. Some of us understand what you stepped into, although your story seems to be leaving some others questioning your integrity and role in the matter. Care to expand for the sake of finishing what you started?
Why in the world does a town of 7,500 have it’s own police force? Does Cotati have that much money lying around?
To set the record straight, because I do believe in transparency especially with local government, I was paid a total of $29,900 for the 6 month job, not $65K. And, I did not go to the press, Jeremy called me after being tipped off by an unknown source. I only answered his questions.
Heather,
I have to agree with you in terms of the double and triple dipping that’s taking place among well compensated government retirees (Councilman Mark Landman comes to mind, although his paycheck from Cotati is chump change…but still), but need to disagree with you in terms of how “turmoil” is being applied in this case.
Susan Jones was hired on an interim basis for several very specific purposes- to manage the existing police force, to suggest future management and staffing solutions, and finally, to be an integral part in the selection process of her and Bob Stewart’s permanent replacement. The fact that she caught on so quickly as to the machinations of Cotati’s inner workings demonstrates two things- first, that she’s a quick study, and second, that she directly experienced where the real “turmoil” lies. Right or wrong in her decision to bring it to Jeremy’s attention, her job performance was hindered by Dianne Thompson’s need for an iron grip on all that falls within her realm. Jones threatened that grip, and invaded the inner sanctum of the Cotati power structure, and for whatever reason, exposed it’s pervasive cultural and inter-personal/departmental state of dysfunction that defines what’s become the norm, as has been for a long time.
Also in Jones’ defense in her role- she nailed the sentiment that’s rampant with not only the Cotati PD’s rank and file, but that of all city employees who dare not incur Dianne’s wrath. Think for a moment about the average cop in Cotati. They now have every reason to believe that their prospects for career advancement from within is nonexistent, because they’ll never be considered “qualified” enough to rise to the top, even though their former Chief did, and in spite of the fact that many of them have served Cotati for years. Measure A, which was only passed with their support and for their benefit entirely in the eyes of the voters, is now being siphoned off as a matter of Dianne’s priorities and discretion for more of the same doe-eyed, nonsensical pipe-dreams that have come to define the perception of necessities and growth in the City. Precisely the same ones that put it deeply into the red to begin with. Outsiders from the Sheriff’s Dept are brought in to fill vacancies, and even to conduct internal investigations. And last but not least, with Dianne’s proposed salary range for the new Chief, he’ll actually be making less than his lieutenant and most of his Sargents. Is that the way in which you attract the best and brightest, and keep them? Also, Jones wasn’t alone in her opinion as to the final candidate. Three other well respected and experienced police officers and city officials from Novato, Santa Rosa, and Cloverdale also confirmed her professional opinion and advice. Dianne not only invalidated (and obviously, really pissed off) the person that the Cotati City Council selected to the tune of $65k to be part of the process, but others who were no doubt much better qualified than she was to select the final candidates for the job. With all due respect to Chief Parish, he didn’t even make the short list assembled by his peers. What happened there? $65k, plus all the expenses of staff time that Dianne is so quick to point out when she’s targeting her own enemies. This, on top of the $28k that was spent several years ago to hire a police consultant that said the solution was to hire more field personnel, not management. Did that expense and expert opinion not produce the desired outcome? Honestly, an idiot could be producing better results, for less.
I could go on and on about the litany of my own direct experiences, observations and opinions regarding Dianne Thompson’s motives, behavior, conduct and competency on a line-item basis, but suffice-it-to-say, “turmoil” isn’t something that Jones introduced to this story. Cotati has a long history of City Managers who have been far more qualified, but whose heads have rolled for far less. It’s high time she joined them.
Heather,
Jones didn’t cause turmoil for the city, the City Manager did when she set up a process and then for whatever reason circumvented it. The question is why? Sound like they had plenty of candidates after Jones’ “chosen one” but this one was the only one who did not get the second interview. Why was that? That is the real question. Was this candidate not qualified to pass the next panel? Was there another PC reason he was chosen? No one knows except the City Manager. Why even have a process? That is the real issue here. Jones may have an axe to grind, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the other applicants who may or may not have been better choices got screwed. The people of Cotati will never know if they got the best Chief because one person cheated the system. That person should have had the best interest of the city at heart.
Ohhhhh….and we’re surprised WHY???????
This is how Cotati run’s this city….foolishly! What do you expect from the leaders? They have been getting away with unprofessional behavior for years and they are not held accountable for any of their dictatorship behavior!
The Mayor says, “And I will follow up on it as a councilman,” LOL!!!!! He refuses to look at our American Flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during Council meetings…..not following aggrandized protocol should tell you this matter is no concern for the “Mayor” of Cotati. He refuses to respond to me personally because he says “his character has nothing to do with City business”…..
This is normal behavior of Cotati’s employees….they are beholden to no one but their-selves and their Socialist agendas! If you wanna see Government run a muck locally…..head to the next council meeting in Cotati!
Beef King – Ms. Jones didn’t get her way, the person she wanted for the position. So what does she do? She goes to the media and blasts the City Manager and causes all kinds of turmoil for Cotati.
And I am simply offering up my opinion, that was why I said “it sure looks to me.” I will let others make their own decision.
Sounds like sour grapes from Jones who did not get here way. Who is she to dictate the salary the City is willing to pay for a Chief of Police? She was a fill in who did not do the job she was overpaid to do.
Jones needs to stick to her primary job of being on the Healdsburg City Council and not putting in her two cents where it was not wanted or needed.
Good luck to Healdsburg with councilman Jones and her views of self importance.
Interim Chief Jones thought she had it wired for her candiate to get the job. If you only knew. These positions are normally wired from start to finish but it looks like Cotati short-circuited Susan’s pick. That is probably a good thing in the long run based what she did with Healdsburg.
‘Heather’ must have read a different article than the one I read.
There is no evidence in the article of Chief Jones having a tantrum, nor is their mention of gender issues.
Did you just make this stuff up Heather? Or is there more to this story than the reporter wrote?
Susan Jones did her job. She identified the source of the problem. Dianne lives in a world where she’s the puppet master. All who come before her, all who serve, and even all whose good graces she at least theoretically serves under, are either pawns, something she’s forced to tolerate, or simply annoyances to quickly dispose of within the course of fulfilling her personal agenda of securing her position and power at the expense of all else. This is Dianne Thompson’s city, we just live in it.
It will be interesting to see if the once much ballyhooed and trusted interim chief whose credentials, objectivity, and experience won her the full faith and support of the City Council will stand up to her now contrarian exposure of all not being quite as Utopian and wonderful within City Hall as some would have us believe. Or, more likely, she’ll be marginalized and branded a pariah with the rest of us that have seen this for what it is for years. She did her job. Now, esteemed council members, it’s time to stand up, lead, and at long last, do yours.
The candidate was not recommended to go to the 2nd panel, and therefore he did not go through the 2nd panel of interviews; however the City Manager hired him anyways disregarding the 2 that were recommended. Sounds corrupt to me.
What a joke,they pay that bum 65 grand for only six months work if you can even call what it did work.Those people are nothing but over paid welfare frauds.No wonder this flunky state is in such a mess.The worst is yet to come people,mark my words.
It sure looks to me that Ms. Jones just threw the City of Cotati under the bus and had a tantrum because her pick was a woman and the City Manager picked a Man.
What the PD should be writing about is how this elected official, Ms. Jones, is triple dipping when it comes to the taxpayer. She has her Pension from Healdsburg, she is a City Councilman, and she just finished a $65,000 contract with Cotati.
According to the PD article, the new Chief will be paid $115,000 a year. The candidate Ms. Jones wanted, was offered $130,000 by Ms. Jones. So the taxpayer’s of Cotati should be happy that they are already saving $15,000 because of the City Manager’s decision.
Hopefully Ms. Jones won’t be so care free with Healdsburg’s finances in her role as Councilmember.
In a word; Cotati…
As anyone who has attended a City Council meeting can clearly see, the Cotati City Council is a leisure-time service of City Manager Dianne Thompson and Acting Community Development Director Marsha Sue Lustig.
So her blatant disrespect for the Council and for Acting Chief Jones should come as no surprise. It’s just the latest example of how Cotati’s reporting structure is completely upside down.
If anyone on the Council has the slightest bit of respect for the job they were elected to do, they will put Ms. Thompson on notice for her behavior.
I, for one, am not holding my breath.
Too bad for all involved. I’ve met both women and think highly of both. Hopefully both can take something useful away from this experience.
If the quotes and stated facts of this story, it is obvious that City Manager Thompson and others have been exposed for purposefully evading processes to achieve personal agendas, whatever they may be.
Those who are responsible for oversight of the City Manager have a clear need to investigate these circumstances in order to ensure the citizens of Cotati that their government officials are following the rules and not building personal power towers.
Thanks to Chief Jones and the Press-Democrat for serving the publics’ need for transparency and truth in government.