NEW ORLEANS — Before the holidays, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Capt. Michelle Woodfork as interim NOPD superintendent and promised a national search for a permanent replacement for former chief Shaun Ferguson.
With Woodfork’s announcement Tuesday of a sweeping overhaul of the department’s top commanders, she is clearly settling into the role.
Yet the process and timetable for a national search has not yet gotten off the ground, despite a big push from the City Council, advocacy groups and the public to seek the best and brightest candidates from around the country.
At a press briefing Wednesday, Cantrell admitted as much.
“It’s yet fully defined,” the mayor responded to a question about the search. “When that happens you will truly be the first to know, but it’s still a work in progress.”
Cantrell said that the first organization she reached out to for help in the search, the Police Executive Research Forum, declined the offer to help the city. She said her administration was in contact with PERF – a non-profit police research firm based in Washington, D.C. – even before naming Woodfork as interim chief.
“It’s really unlikely that they will take on that role for the city of New Orleans,” Cantrell said.
The City Council, meanwhile, appears poised to try and jump-start the search process. A resolution set to be introduced at Thursday’s council meeting – and exclusively obtained by WWL-TV – will outline some parameters for the search.
The resolution, which does not have the force of law, calls for an “advisory selection committee,” community input through forums in each of the five council districts and engagement from current and former officers.
The advisory committee should be made up of representatives of the administration, the council, and the community “including non-profit, neighborhood and business leaders who will advise and confer with the mayor about the selection process and potential candidates.”
The resolution also “urges and supports” increasing the chief’s salary and considering a long-term contract for whomever is chosen.
Unlike all previous selections for NOPD superintendent, the council will have much more input through the charter change adopted overwhelmingly by the public in November requiring a confirmation process for top mayoral appointees.
Adding some weight to the resolution, each of the seven council members are listed as co-authors. There was no immediate reaction from the mayor’s office to the proposed measure.
Meanwhile, Woodfork made a bold mark Tuesday at a formal promotions ceremony by announcing an overhaul of her executive command staff.
Woodfork named Capt. Hans Ganthier as her second-in-command, elevating him from his post as Eighth District commander. He replaces Christopher Goodly as chief deputy of field operations, overseeing the city’s front line patrol officers. Goodly chose to retire than accept a demotion.
Woodfork also named Capt. Ryan Lubrano as chief deputy over the Investigative Services Bureau, replacing Lawrence Dupree, who moves to the superintendent’s office. She also elevated Capt. Nicholas Gernon to deputy chief of professional standards and accountability, replacing Otha Sandifer, who also decided to retire after decades on the job.
At her press briefing, Cantrell made an unprecedented admission that her office played a role in the selection of the new commanders. While City Hall meddling in the choice of deputy chiefs is common, no mayor has ever stated it out loud.
In response to a question about the process, Cantrell answered, “Yes, it was in consultation with me directly.”