Monterey Park’s Search for a Chief Causes Stir

Upset that the city is conducting a search for a new police chief instead of selecting outright one of the San Gabriel Valley’s most visible law enforcement officers, supporters of Capt. Joseph Santoro have gathered hundreds of names on petitions urging his appointment.

Organizers launched their effort, they say, out of fear that city officials might select someone from outside the community. “People are saying that Joe’s the best man. We don’t need somebody coming in from the outside,” said Marie Purvis, a former Chamber of Commerce president. “We need somebody that knows this town and knows who’s who.”

Beyond that, she and another Santoro supporter, Lucy Ammeian, said they think it is a waste of city money to have hired the search firm Korn-Ferry International of Los Angeles. “This is an insult,” said Ammeian. “Our former police chiefs always have come up through the ranks.”

City officials say residents who favor Santoro apparently have the mistaken view that the selection process is political, and that it should and can be influenced by petitions, letters and phone calls.

Replacement for Collins

“If Joe Santoro is the best person for the job, then it’s Joe Santoro,” said City Manager Mark Lewis. “But if it’s determined not to be Joe Santoro, then a herd of white elephants isn’t going to get me to change my mind.”

As city manager, Lewis is responsible for selecting the replacement for Robert Collins, who retired last month as police chief and now is interim chief. Last fall, Lewis received the City Council’s authorization to conduct a search for a chief.

“I’d like this not to be a controversy,” Lewis said, adding that he wishes the decision could be as apolitical as possible.

Santoro has attempted to distance himself from any controversy. Even though the 22-year veteran has applied for the position, he has made it clear to several of those campaigning on his behalf that he prefers they not be such vocal advocates.

Except to affirm that he has applied for the job, Santoro declined to comment to The Times. He is the only applicant, Lewis said, from the department.

As one of the key spokesmen for the department in recent years, Santoro has become highly visible not only in Monterey Park, but throughout Southern California. During the panic over the Night Stalker killings, he addressed community meetings, trying to allay fears. He also has become known as knowledgeable about how Asian immigration influences law enforcement and crime in Southern California. He often gives lectures on this subject to law enforcement officials, as well as educators.

But Lewis and council members, who say they also respect Santoro, said it is important to make an extensive search for a new chief. “I am looking for an excellent leader and an excellent policeman,” Lewis said. “The whole focus of the search is for Monterey Park to get the best possible chief.

“I have great respect for Joe Santoro and am very pleased he has applied,” said Lewis. “And there are many other very qualified applicants.”

It is not unusual, Lewis said, for a city to use an executive search firm. “Most cities use them a whole lot more than we do,” he said. Had no search been conducted, Lewis said, “we’d certainly be open to even a lot more criticism.”

In response to the search, disparate voices from throughout the community are pushing for Santoro’s appointment.

Lions Club Support

The president of the Monterey Park Lions Club, in the club’s “Growler” newsletter, last month encouraged the 69-member group to write letters in Santoro’s behalf. Santoro is a club member, but President Frank Bellavia said Santoro had nothing to do with the suggestion.

The Lions Club, Bellavia said, takes no official stand on political or city matters. He said he decided to address the issue after he received a number of phone calls from people expressing their concern that Santoro be chosen.

Alhambra and Monterey Park residents involved in a campaign to force the state to relocate a parole office have written letters and signed petitions supporting Santoro. Santoro is among those who worked with state and local officials on safety questions raised by residents who object to the office’s location in a residential neighborhood on Alhambra’s border with Monterey Park. The state agreed to move the office.

“I hope we’re not being too aggressive about this. But we were concerned and we’ve gotten to depend on him,” said Marijune Wissmann, a member of an Alhambra committee that was formed to address the parole office issue.

Ammeian has organized a pro-Santoro petition drive, mostly among older residents. Her involvement, she said, has nothing to do with her position on the city’s Personnel Board, which is involved in the hiring of rank-and-file staff but not department heads.

“This is not just my idea, honey,” she said. “I’m too small a person to make a giant issue of this. This is a community effort.”

Ammeian said that she and others have gathered petitions signed by at least 600 residents. She said she had not talked to Santoro about the petition drive recently. “I don’t know him that well, anyway. And I don’t want anybody to think we are in cahoots.”

Last fall she mentioned it to him, she said, and he asked her not to get involved. She changed her mind recently, she said, when she became worried that Santoro might not be selected.

“You have to fight in this community to show what you want,” she said.

Supporters of Santoro said they were unaware that, until recently, others were organizing on the police captain’s behalf. Some of them plan to present their petitions and express their views to the council at its Monday meeting.

‘They’ve Got the Best Man’

“Here is a man who’s got all the qualifications, all the respect of the community and the department. And they’re going out and spending $15,000 to look for a police chief when they’ve got the best man sitting right there in City Hall,” said Purvis, an unsuccessful candidate in last year’s City Council election.

Purvis and others cited Santoro’s background: He grew up and was educated in Monterey Park. As a young man he worked as a barber and was a member of the police reserve unit, before joining the police force and working his way up to captain. He has a master’s degree in public administration from University of Southern California.

In 1986, he traveled the country as part of a study he wrote for the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, “Impact of the Foreign Chinese Migration on Urban America.” Monterey Park, with its rapid demographic changes from Asian immigration, was featured in the report.

Extensive Search Unwarranted

The city did not conduct a similar search before appointing Allen McComb as fire chief last month. An extensive search was unwarranted, Lewis said, partly because McComb twice had served as acting chief, once for more than a year.

Lewis and several council members emphasized that the city’s code authorizes the city manager, not the council, to select the police chief.

But Ammeian, an unsuccessful council candidate in 1981, said: “I’ve in this town too damn long to believe that the last word doesn’t come from the council.”

Council members says they have nothing to do with the process beyond approving the search. Councilwoman Patricia Reichenberger, who as a child in Monterey Park attended grade school and high school with Santoro, said she is confident that Lewis “will choose the very best person for the job, whether it’s Joe or someone else.”

City Manager Has Final Word

Mayor Barry L. Hatch, who is a member of the same Lions Club as Santoro, said Santoro “has a good record. But as far as a search, I think that’s valid. We need to look far and wide and have a comparison of candidates.”

Hatch said he is pleased by the involvement of citizens but said the council can only listen to their comments and not act on them, since the city manager has the final word.

City officials say they expect a new chief will be selected by sometime in March, after the top six candidates have been chosen and interviewed at the end of this month.