Marc Odien, Chris Smith and I are at the Buffalo Common Council to watch and report on what everyone hopes to be the third of three Buffalo Common Council hearings on the Dan Derenda nomination to become the next Buffalo Police Commissioner.
By all accounts, Derenda has the five votes necessary to get the job, but the ancillary drama is what everyone is interested in, so you’ll be smart to watch the live stream by clicking here.
Mickey Kearns states that the special session today is making a mockery of the legislative committee system. He repeats that the Karla Thomas, the city’s HR director, had 6 months to select a candidate and came up with Mr. Derenda alone. That’s fine, he says, but complains about the rule-gaming technicality that enabled Derenda’s name to be resubmitted for today’s session. He says that the item in committee should be before the body via discharge by committee chairman, and he finds today’s identical agenda item to be improperly before the council.
In the end, Kearns’ protestations are silly and petty. Derenda’s qualifications are beside the procedural point.
David Rivera repeats that Derenda’s nomination was tabled in committee for a variety of reasons, most prominently those having to do with the nationwide nature – or lack thereof – for H. McCarthy Gibson’s replacement. The problems – especially with Karla Thomas’ responses to councilmembers’ questions – that promoted the council to table the nomination still exist, and this circumventing of the rules may be in the Charter, but dilutes the power of the council. Now, any time the Mayor’s office disagrees with anything that the committee does, they can call a special meeting, which requires only a simple majority for passage of agenda items.
Haynes: No.
Kearns: No.
LoCurto: No.
Rivera: No.
Franczyk, Smith, Russell, Golombek, Fontana voted for Derenda.
In a press gaggle afterwards, Derenda said that he harbored no ill will towards any of the councilmembers who opposed his nomination, and understood that it wasn’t personal. He had been coached not to comment at all on the controversy surrounding the very localized national search that led to his selection.
5/4 vote, Dan Derenda is the Police Commissioner of Buffalo. Derenda thanks the council and “look[s] forward to the challenge.”
