Officials Acknowledge They Courted Controversial Fire Chief

Pasadena city officials--whose search for a new fire chief has drawn criticism from local firefighters--confirmed Friday that they had vigorously sought at one point to recruit a San Jose fire chief who had been fired from that job for lack of leadership.

Pasadena Assistant City Manager Ed Sotelo, the city’s interim personnel director, said that the city “did try to recruit” Raymond Brooks to replace Peter Pederson, the city’s retiring fire chief.

But Brooks, whose resume also included a stint as the head of the Alhambra Fire Department, rebuffed the city’s efforts early this month and took a job as head of the Fire Department in Birmingham, Ala.

The decision effectively stalled Pasadena’s recruitment effort, as senior managers within the department joined the local firefighters union in questioning the city’s method for selecting finalists for the job.

Brooks was fired from the San Jose job in November 1995 after becoming the focal point of a conflict between white and black firefighters. Two dozen white fire captains unsuccessfully sued him, alleging that he rigged an exam to benefit minorities, according to published reports.