Williams to Seek Second Term as L.A. Police Chief

Breaking his silence and touching off a potentially volatile debate at the highest levels of Los Angeles city government, Police Chief Willie L. Williams announced Tuesday that he intends to seek a second five-year term as chief.

“It is with great pride and your support that I announce that I will soon be submitting my papers to receive a second term as chief of police,” Williams told about 1,000 friends and supporters at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

With those words, the audience jumped to its feet and burst into applause. Some chanted “five more years” as Williams received a warm ovation from the crowd that included the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray of First AME Church, John Mack of the Los Angeles Urban League, and other religious and civic leaders. The gathering also featured a late arrival by former Mayor Tom Bradley, whose Police Commission hired Williams from Philadelphia in 1992.

Williams’ declaration intensifies the heated debate over whether to reappoint the chief, who has presided over falling crime rates but also has seen his department become less productive--at least as measured by criteria such as arrests, citations and field interviews.

Supporters believe that Williams is a well-intentioned reformer entitled to a second term, while critics say he is an ineffective manager who lacks credibility with his subordinates and civilian bosses. Although relations between the chief and the city’s Police Commission are personally friendly, commissioners have repeatedly expressed frustrations at aspects of Williams’ performance, judgment and honesty.

Despite those disagreements, Williams remains one of the city’s best known and most popular public figures--as well as one of its most prominent black leaders.

Few political leaders relish a face-off over his continued stewardship of the LAPD. If Williams presses his quest, the debate could turn divisive and involve the city’s most prominent players: the Police Commission, the mayor, the council and the chief himself.

Seeking to avoid a confrontation with Williams, some City Council members and others have broached the idea of paying Williams anywhere from $80,000 to $250,000 to leave without seeking a second term. The chief, who earns $173,000 a year, presumably could then take one of several jobs that he has been offered, including a high-level spot in the Clinton administration’s drug policy office.

Williams would not comment on those possibilities Tuesday, smiling as he brushed off reporters’ questions.

“You always keep your options open,” he said after the announcement. “Right now, I’m seeking a second term.”

Williams’ declaration of interest in the post was greeted with enthusiasm from his backers, but the reaction from city leaders was far more muted. Mayor Richard Riordan skipped the breakfast honoring Williams and later issued a statement expressing confidence that the Police Commission will evaluate the chief on his merits.

Under a City Charter amendment approved by voters in 1992 as part of an LAPD reform package, the chief serves a five-year term, renewable at the pleasure of the Police Commission. No matter what the commission decides, it would take 10 members of the City Council to override their decision.

None of the police commissioners were present Tuesday to hear Williams’ declaration. Later, Commissioner Raymond C. Fisher declined to comment on the chief’s performance or prospects for a second term, but did note that Williams had not told him or other commissioners that he intended to make the announcement.

Asked why he had not notified his bosses of an announcement that has been the source of speculation for weeks, Williams responded: “No particular reason, and it shouldn’t be interpreted as such.”

Among those in the audience Tuesday was City Atty. James Hahn, who told reporters that he believes that Williams deserves a second term. But Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, who also attended the event, would say only that he has had a good relationship with the chief. “I’m not getting involved in any of the city politics,” the county’s top prosecutor said.

Two members of the 15-member City Council, Nate Holden and Mark Ridley-Thomas, also were on hand for the event. Afterward, Holden commended the chief for being willing to “stay and fight,” while Ridley-Thomas defended the chief even as he declined to declare his unqualified support for a second term.

“There is nothing before us at this point,” he said again and again in response to questions about whether he favors reappointing Williams. In a statement released later, Ridley-Thomas appealed to the commission to give the chief a fair shake, “no leaks, no interference, no prejudging.”

Similarly, Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the Public Safety Committee but did not attend the breakfast, issued a statement in which she voiced no opinion about the chief’s announcement but said she intended to respect the commission’s right to evaluate his bid.

“I have confidence that the commission will conduct its review in a manner that serves the best interest of the citizens of the city of Los Angeles,” she said.

For now, however, the next move belongs to Williams.

Although an LAPD spokesman described the chief’s comments as “official,” Williams did not take the official step Tuesday of submitting his application for a second term. Instead, he told reporters that he intends to submit his application sometime before the Jan. 7 deadline. He would not say when, nor did he explain why he was not making the official application at the same time as his announcement.

That coyness fueled speculation at City Hall that Williams’ announcement really was intended to strengthen his bargaining position in the event that city officials offer him a settlement to leave.

“He has no negotiating position if he says, ‘No, I’m not going to go for it.’ What strength does he have then?” said Councilman Richard Alatorre, an outspoken critic of Williams. “Does that change anything? I don’t think so. It’s neither here nor there. Until he actually submits his letter of intent, who knows? He may not.”

But Johnny Darnell Griggs, the chief’s lawyer, said he believed that Williams genuinely wants the reappointment.

“The chief has declared his desire to seek reappointment,” Griggs said, adding that no financial offer has officially been presented. “He intends and wishes, as far as I know, to be the chief of police until he completes another five-year term.”

That portends a possible political fight, with Williams needing to persuade either a majority of the five police commissioners or 10 City Council members to back his reappointment. So far, he appears to be far short of those goals, but he and his backers are trying to increase the pressure on the council to back him.

“Willie Williams should be retained for another term,” said Bishop Charles Blake, an influential minister and Williams confidant. “We don’t have a problem with Willie Williams, and if we, the voters, don’t have a problem with Willie Williams, those who are elected to serve us should not have a problem with Willie Williams.”

And while Williams’ backers urged residents to call council members and others to express their support, the chief has been courting support--sometimes in unexpected quarters.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file officers, has long been critical of Williams’ performance. But the league’s primary focus in recent months has been to secure a so-called “compressed work schedule” for officers.

A pilot project has tested a work schedule in which officers work 12-hour days, three days a week. Officers have expressed strong support for extending that schedule departmentwide, and the union has made securing that deal its top priority.

Williams had stayed publicly neutral on the idea until Tuesday, when he told the breakfast crowd that he supports the revised work schedule.

“We’ve . . . just concluded a test to look at new patrol shifts, find out a better way to enhance the officers’ life, their family life, but at the same time make sure that we don’t neglect the needs and wants and the desires of you, the men and women of our community,” Williams said. “I believe that we can do both, give them a compressed work schedule that will meet their demands, and at the same time make sure that we are able to enhance public safety and service to the men and women of our community.”

Those remarks took city officials by surprise but delighted union leaders.

“I was elated to hear that he supports the compressed work schedule,” said Dennis Zine, a league director.

Zine denied that the league has promised to support Williams in return for his backing of a modified work schedule. But he added that if Williams can secure a revised work schedule for the league, the board and its members would be deeply grateful.

“We haven’t given any promises to anyone,” Zine said. “But if this happens, I will say this is a positive for the chief of police.”

Times staff writers Rich Connell and Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this article.

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In the Running

Police Chief Willie L. Williams announced Tuesday that he intends to seek a second five-year term, but he did not actually file an application. The five-member civilian Police Commission would vote on any formal application. Or, 10 members of the City Council could override the commission.

Background:

* Previous Job: Police commissioner in Philadelphia

* Current Post: Appointed to five-year term, officially beginning July 6, 1992. A 1992 charter amendment limits the chief to two five-year terms.

* Job Description: Nation’s third-largest police department, with 9,250 sworn police officers and 2,946 civilians.

* Salary: $173,202

“You always keep your options open . . . Right now, I’m seeking a second term.”