BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, NOV. 12, 2018) — Last year, Ben Walsh ran as an independent in the Syracuse, NY mayoral election, one that’s run along party lines. Walsh gave traditional party politics the heave-ho. The wise guys didn’t think he could win.

Walsh won.

Walsh’s victory sent a clear message that voters were fed up with status-quo Democratic and Republican do-nothings. Walsh ran on a business-friendly platform that also included tax reform, downtown development centered on private as opposed to public investment, and public safety initiatives. He is delivering variously on all three promises, especially the last one.

One year after his election, Syracuse has a new police chief. When Chief Frank Fowler announced he was stepping down to retirement after 28 years on the force and nine as chief, insiders predicted that his top aide, Joseph Celile, the first deputy chief, would get the job. Fowler actively campaigned for Celile. This was not, however, to be the typical “pass the baton” type of “friendly” successorship, the kind so familiar to citizens of Pittsfield, MA.

Walsh invited applications in an actual, not a dreaded, nationwide search. You know when a similar opening occurs in Pittsfield, the “nationwide search” comes down to preordained payola, buddy-buddy, nepotism, and the insider-reward installment plan that looks at donor lists and kiss-up marks. In Syracuse, Walsh’s search actually went to the country.

———- 000 ———-

As background, Syracuse can be described as a “big small city” or a “small big city,” with a metro-area population of 700,000. It has all the amenities you would expect in a thriving town including Triple A baseball (NY Mets) and hockey (Tampa Bay Lightning); one of the world’s largest shopping malls (Destiny USA); its own “Greenwich Village” (Armory Square); dining, nightclubs, theaters, and arena entertainment; one of the nation’s top private universities; the Northeast’s largest domed stadium with big-time Division I football and with crowds routinely hitting 30,000 and 40,000; one of the largest and most advanced health-care industries in the nation; lakes, woods, and countryside; a busy and clean downtown; and much more.

It also has neighborhoods comparable to Pittsfield’s West Side, particularly its lower South Side. The trouble spots that plague every city and town are no stranger to Syracuse, with requisite gangs, drugs, and violence. Unlike Pittsfield, however, the city has demonstrated its seriousness in addressing these problem spots. One example is how it went about a reformation of 500-plus member police department and its applications of public safety.

Thirty people applied for the chief’s job. Walsh and his committee narrowed it down to three candidates, one of whom was the first deputy. Again, insiders confidently predicted a coronation rather than a competition. Walsh, however, turned over the tables, kicked “status quo” in the butt, and hired Kenton Bucker, police chief in Little Rock, AK, with more than two decades of police experience in Louisville, KY prior to his stint in Arkansas.

Walsh went outside, believing a fresh outlook would be better positioned to address the rising public-safety concerns that plague most metropolitan areas. Under Pittsfield present political poisons, going outside for a new chief can never happen, condemning the city to the imploded insanity of trying the same things multiple times expecting different results.

———- 000 ———-

Bucker, following the refreshingly radical move of Mayor Walsh, also did what in the People’s Republic of Pittsfield would be unthinkable: He held a news conference and invited not only the press but also the public to participate. Scores of people showed up. He addressed the crowd with impromptu remarks and then — you ready for this? — took questions, showing an openness and availability unheard of in Shire City. Remarkable.

Of course, Bucker touted the usual, emphasizing the critical importance of partnership between his department and the community. Even Pittsfield preaches this type of obvious doctrine. Question is, how do you achieve results? Citizens who do partner with police aren’t the ones who NEED to partner. That part of Bucker’s tenure will only be proven or not by time. He did promise cooperation and collegiality with respect to the various other law enforcement and criminal justice organizations, and he may have a shot at it since it doesn’t appear that Syracuse has the rampant turf-wars that plague Pittsfield.

Bucker set as priorities violent crime, more and smarter use of data and intelligence, identifying and going after repeat offenders, paying special attention to crime “hot spots,” and “spearfishing” as opposed to “netfishing” — that is, a more targeted approach to policing that makes better use of existing resources that in the contemporary version of lawlessness can never be enough. THE PLANET notes with thanks that he did not use the phrase “21st century policing,” which is progressive code for letting criminals literally get away with murder. As we all know, Pittsfield loves “21st century policing.” The Fourth of July massacre, anyone? Or how about the unsolved, not properly investigated so-called murder-suicide of a father and his 11-year-old daughter?

Bucker said he will live in the city, and he wants his officers to do the same. He also said he would encourage the meaningful participation of Syracuse’s citizen review board. These signals suggest buy-in of a man determined to make a landing, set up a beachhead, and take a stand for a set of beliefs.

Will Bucker succeed? That remains to be seen. The fact that he comes in loaded with experience and from the outside means he will better able to install a fresh approach while not being burdened by the inevitable politics that can interfere with such an important job. It brings us back to Pittsfield.

Chief Mike Wynn has lost the confidence of much of his department, and he is heavily involved with the political as opposed to the policing aspects of his position. Those are not judgments. Those are observations based on the preponderance of evidence. Because of friendship and loyalty, normally two excellent virtues, we know Mayor Linda Tyer won’t “pull a Ben Walsh” and bring in a new chief from the outside. To round out the criminal justice picture locally, keep an eye of the dramatic changes coming from the D.A.’s office, many if not most sure to cause friction if not hostility from other key elements of county law enforcement.

When they last appeared at yet another of those public-safety “community meeting” photo-ops, Tyer and Wynn essentially admitted they had no answers. The most unnerving aspect of that isn’t the “no answer” part. At least that was honest. More troubling was they way they said it, the tone of it. The response gave the impression that they, as leaders of public safety, are frozen in their tracks. In view in this authoritarian helplessness, why should anyone expect the current crime wave going on unchecked in Shire City to dissipate?

————————————————————————————————-

“People can only be happy when they do not assume the object of life is happiness” — George Orwell.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

The views and opinions expressed in the comment section or in the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI are not necessarily endorsed by the operators of this website. PLANET VALENTI assumes no responsibility for such views and opinions, and it reserves the right to remove or edit any comment, including but not limited to those that violate the website’s Rules of Conduct and its editorial policies. PLANET VALENTI shall not be held responsible for the consequences that may result from any posted comment or outside opinion or commentary as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and this website’s terms of service. All users of this website — including readers, commentators, contributors, or anyone else making use of its information hereby agree to these conditions by virtue of this notice. When PLANET VALENTI ends with the words “The Usual Disclaimer,” that phrase shall be understood to refer to the full text of this disclaimer.