Insiders still favored for chief

As the Los Angeles Police Commission meets today to begin interviews with candidates vying to become LAPD’s next chief, four department insiders who were early favorites remain leading contenders, according to city, community and law enforcement leaders monitoring the confidential selection process.

The top candidates, most officials say, are Assistant Chiefs Jim McDonnell, Earl Paysinger and Sharon Papa and Deputy Chief Charlie Beck.

Beck, a 32-year veteran of the force who has established a strong reputation among the LAPD rank and file and civic leaders alike for being both a tough cop and progressive thinker on crime, is widely perceived to have gained a slight advantage over the others. Papa, meanwhile, is viewed as more of a long shot in light of some missteps made in recent months by parts of the department under her command, according to several sources.

LAPD watchers cautioned, however, that the competition is far from decided and that the candidates’ performance in the interviews before the commission and later with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has the final say, will play a significant role. One dark horse mentioned by some as having a chance if she bowls over the commission in her interview is Deputy Chief Sandy Jo MacArthur, who heads the LAPD’s training group.

For weeks now, those jockeying to replace outgoing Chief William J. Bratton have had to walk a delicate line, pursuing their interests in the job without appearing to be campaigning for it. Unlike political races where public endorsements, cash contributions and votes are eagerly sought, the unofficial campaign for chief demands two things: discretion and the mayor’s support.

On its face, the rules of engagement appear simple: Identify the politicians, LAPD officials, high-powered attorneys, civic leaders, Hollywood moguls and others whose counsel Villaraigosa might seek in making his decision. Call them up and ask for help. In reality, it is far more complicated.

“It is a very, very weird process,” said one prominent LAPD official, who, like everyone else interviewed for this article, asked that his name not be used because the selection process is confidential. “There are the people you absolutely must call and pay homage to -- the elected officials and whatnot. There are the people who could do you some harm and, so, who you need to neutralize. And then there are the people who can actually put in a good word for you with the mayor. You need to navigate all of these waters, and you need to do it skillfully.”

In a letter to the commission sent earlier in the month, Villaraigosa said he had convened an advisory group chaired by Warren Christopher, who headed an oversight panel in 1991 that recommended sweeping reforms for the LAPD after the Rodney G. King beating, to offer “thoughtful advice” on candidates and the process for evaluating them. Joining Christopher will be civil rights attorney Connie Rice; retired judge Lourdes Baird; Stewart Kwoh, president of the Asian American Justice Center; and attorney Ron Olson. On behalf of the group’s members, Christopher declined to comment.

But Villaraigosa has been talking to and hearing from far more than these five. In an interview, he declined to offer specifics but said he’ll “be seeking advice from a broad cross section of individuals and leaders. I’ll be accepting every call and making my own calls to solicit input.”

A candidate’s failure to reach out to the right people can be costly. One city official who has close ties to the LAPD and met with the mayor to discuss the selection voiced dismay that only two candidates had contacted her. “I am surprised more have not reached out,” she said. “It would have been good if they had.”

Acting swiftly to lock up support is also important. In a particularly awkward encounter, an influential attorney was eagerly approached by a candidate and had to tell him he was too late because she had already committed her support to one of his competitors.

The issues of race and gender are also delicate ones. In past chief selections, when divisions within the department and ill will between the LAPD and the city ran deeper, race and gender politics played a major role.

This time around, however, they are on the periphery, and candidates risk hurting their chances if they overplay the issues, several people said. As a Latino mayor who recently selected a black fire chief and has made other similar high-profile appointments, Villaraigosa can more easily dismiss such pressures, they said.

“If he picks someone who doesn’t get the job done, the hit he’s going to take politically will be far worse than any bump he might get from picking a minority or woman,” one observer said.

Winning the support of Bratton himself is perhaps the most coveted prize. The impressive gains the department has made under Bratton in fighting crime, improving oversight of officer conduct and building ties to minority communities have bolstered the mayor’s standing considerably, and Villaraigosa has been clear that he wants the next chief to come from a similar mold.

“I’m looking for a chief that understands that the reforms that we have implemented . . . are reforms that are permanent,” the mayor said in an interview.

Publicly, Bratton has insisted he is not lobbying Villaraigosa for anyone in particular and has said only that he believes strongly that his replacement should come from the group of deputy and assistant chiefs applying from inside the department. Several sources, however, said Bratton has been pulling quietly for Beck. At a convention of U.S. police officials in Denver a few weeks ago, “it was an open secret,” said the chief from another major city.

Beck, 56, who became a deputy chief only a few years ago, is a relative newcomer to the upper ranks of the department compared to McDonnell, Paysinger and Papa. He rose quickly into a position of authority under Bratton, who increasingly entrusted him with more responsibilities and looked to him to handle crises as they erupted. Most recently, Bratton took control of the department’s forensic laboratory away from Papa and gave it to Beck after the division was beset by a series of high-profile gaffes, including mistakes made by fingerprint analysts.

A preliminary cut made by the city Personnel Department with input from the Police Commission’s president and vice president winnowed the pool of 24 applicants to about a dozen, although commission members remain tight-lipped about the actual number.

With 11 of the spots occupied by LAPD insiders, it is believed that only a few, if any, candidates from outside the department will be interviewed. Today and Thursday, the commission is scheduled to hold back-to-back, hourlong interviews before going into private deliberations on which three candidates to tap as finalists. From those three, Villaraigosa will select the next chief.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

Times staff writers Phil Willon and Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Four seen as top contenders for chief post

Charlie Beck

Position: Deputy chief; chief of detectives

Years in the LAPD: 32

Age: 56

Family life: Married with three children

Education: Cal State Long Beach, bachelor of arts in occupational studies-vocational arts

The son of an LAPD deputy chief, Beck was promoted from captain to deputy chief during Chief William J. Bratton’s tenure. He is a popular figure with the rank and file; two of Beck’s three children are LAPD officers. Bratton often turned to Beck to handle controversial problems, such as the massive DNA testing backlog and errors in fingerprint analysis.

Jim McDonnell

Position: First assistant chief and Bratton’s chief of staff

Years in the LAPD: 28

Age: 50

Family life: Married with two daughters

Education: St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, bachelor of science degree in criminal justice; USC, master’s degree in public administration

A Boston-area native, McDonnell was a contender to be chief in 2002. Bratton used a 100-page plan developed by McDonnell as a blueprint for reshaping the department. When Bratton is out of town, McDonnell often serves as chief. He is also the department’s liaison to council members and community leaders.

Sharon Papa

Position: Assistant chief; heads the Office of Support Services, overseeing budget, recruitment, planning and facilities.

Years in the LAPD: 11

Previously, she worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s police department for 17 years.

Age: 51

Family life: Married

Education: University of Redlands, bachelor of arts degree in business management

Papa served as chief of police for the MTA until that department merged with the LAPD in 1997. She often appears before council committees as the LAPD’s representative. Papa was Bratton’s first chief of staff and in 2003 became the first woman to hold the rank of assistant chief.

Earl Paysinger

Position: Assistant chief; head of daily LAPD operations

Years in the LAPD: 32

Age: 54

Family life: Married with two sons

Education: Cal State Long Beach, bachelor of science degree in criminal justice

Bratton first picked Paysinger to be deputy chief of the bureau that patrols South Los Angeles. He is credited with driving crime down in South L.A. while also reducing tensions between the community and the Police Department.

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Source: Richard Winton, L.A. Times