Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.
Henderson appears to have targeted the head of the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department as its next police chief, but the city won't make any formal job offers until council members get a chance to meet him.
Following a lengthy meeting Monday between City Manager Phil Speight and his department heads to discuss the selection, the city contacted Chief Alan Kerstein, 58, later that night. On Tuesday morning Kerstein talked with the city's Human Resources Department and again in the afternoon, but he declined to elaborate, directing questions to the city.
Without saying why, Kerstein confirmed he may be in Henderson on Thursday.
"I am not in a position to make any comments out of respect for Chief Herren and the process," Kerstein said.
He was referring to 52-year-old James Herren, the chief of police of Torrance, Calif. Herren said he hadn't been contacted by Henderson city officials until late Tuesday afternoon. Herren said he was told there were still two finalists, but he has not been invited back to Henderson for any meeting with council members.
"I am just going to stand by and see how it plays out," Herren said.
Assistant City Manager Mark Calhoun said the police chief selection process has "sort of come down to possibly one."
Without naming any candidate, Calhoun said that before a selection is made, council members will talk with the finalist. In addition, the personnel department needs to complete a background check to answer a few questions that arose.
Calhoun would not elaborate as to what those questions were.
Henderson Human Resources Director Daryl Moore said no announcement is forthcoming until an offer is made and accepted, and that's not expected until early next week. The job pays up to $146,819 a year.
Henderson Police Chief Michael Mayberry retired in April.
The selection of his replacement had been expected to be concluded by now, but it has been lengthened because council members want to meet the finalists on an individual basis before there is any vote to ratify Speight's nominee at the Aug. 2 council meeting, said Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers. She she hasn't been told whom Speight will nominate.
"I would like to meet this guy and not just ratify a name," Cyphers said. "I am not a rubber stamp. I want to look him in the eye, and other council members want that opportunity too. This is a high-profile job, and we have got to make sure we have the right person that fits our community."
Cyphers said she doesn't anticipate any problems with Speight's nomination because he has a "good pulse of the community." Besides, the two finalists received high marks by three assessment panels comprised of community leaders, city department heads and law enforcement officials, she said.
Calhoun said the current plan is for council members to talk with one candidate, but they ultimately could choose to talk to the other to see what the differences are.
"We thought it would be good for them to look at the No. 1 on the list and get their reaction," Calhoun said. "This is a long-term deal, and we want to make sure we have the right one."
Kerstein was a Los Angeles Police Department officer for 31 years and rose to the rank of commander. He left that job in January 2000 to become the chief of police in West Valley City, Utah, which has a population of 120,000. He left there in June 2002 to take the chief's job with the Los Angeles school district.
Wayne Pyle, the city manager of West Valley City Utah, who served on a selection committee, said Kerstein is a quality selection for Henderson.
"He is very dedicated and single-minded guy, and he has always had interest of the police department at the uppermost of his mind," Pyle said. "He was highly ethical and demanded the highest integrity of his troops."
Kerstein served a short stint in Utah, but Pyle said the chief only promised he would stay there about three years at the minimum. Earlier Monday, Kerstein said his recent track record of staying in a job for about three years isn't something he would repeat in Henderson.
During Monday's interview, Kerstein said if selected, he would like to serve as chief for 10 years, saying he jokingly told Speight he would work 20 years and take it year-to-year after that. As a single man in good health with a lot of energy, Kerstein said serving that long won't be a problem. He said he loves being a police officer.
"I still get goose bumps wearing my uniform and my badge," Kerstein said. "This is the best job (career) in the world."
If hired, Kerstein will be joining his family in Henderson. His parents have lived here for 15 years. One sister moved here more than a month ago, and another sister plans to move here by the end of the summer, he said.
The new chief would be joining a department that's expected to nearly double over the next five years to 500 officers and has some tension between its police union and management.
"Anytime you have an organization that has a city with a growth rate so fast, you are really going to need a strong and decisive leader with attributes that are all inclusive and gets input from everyone," Kerstein said.
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