Landreth to head Metro Office of Policy and Planning

Keith Paul

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 10:14 a.m.

Former U.S. Attorney for Nevada Kathryn Landreth next month will head Metro Police's newly created Office of Policy and Planning, department officials said.

The new office was created after longtime Comptroller Lois Willis, head of the Office of Budget and Management, announced her retirement after 20 years with Metro. She will officially retire in January.

Willis' duties will be split between two offices. The Office of Finance will be headed by Karen Keller (no relation to Sheriff Jerry Keller), the accounting director. The office handles the department's budget.

The second office -- the Office of Policy and Planning -- implements state mandates and new state laws applying to Metro. An example of such a law is Assembly Bill 500, which requires a racial profile of motorists involved in traffic stops, Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

Landreth, who declined comment, is scheduled to begin work Oct. 13.

Landreth has been in charge of Sheriff Keller's mental health task force, composed of police, hospital officials and mental health advocates. The task forces tries to develop ways to assist people with mental illness and remove the potential for these residents to have conflicts with police.

"We are very pleased that someone of Kathryn Landreth's obvious experience and skills will be the chief of the new office," Winget said. "I can think of no better person to help the department implement state mandates."

Landreth, a Democrat, resigned as U.S. attorney in March and officially stepped down in April. President Bush had asked U.S. attorneys to submit resignations to clear the way for his own appointees.

Landreth was appointed by then President Clinton in 1993 after being nominated by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. She was the first woman in Nevada to hold the U.S. attorney post.

Landreth was nominated in June 1997 to become a U.S. district judge, but a few months later she asked that her recommendation be withdrawn. At the same time Reid nominated Clark County Deputy District Attorney Victoria Villegas to replace Landreth.

In a letter, written at that time, Landreth said, "I am not at this time ready to commit the personal resources necessary to embark upon the process toward achieving such a monumental goal as the challenge of assuming a federal judgeship."

Landreth remained as U.S. attorney until Bush became president.

Landreth will be paid in the same salary range as a deputy chief -- $87,700 to $123,500. Karen Keller will fall within the same salary range as a commander -- $81,000 to $115,000.

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