By George P. Hassett

The process of choosing Somerville’s next top cop is coming to a close and pretty soon local residents will be able to cross examine the final candidates for the job. In May, city officials announced they had received 45 applicants for the job from states as far away as Texas, Florida and Arizona. By May 23, the pool was narrowed to 16 semi-finalists and on June 26 the selection panel will announce its final three to five final candidates.

However, this new schedule follows an old one that was marked mostly by delays and missed deadlines. After the state legislature approved removing the selection process for the chief from civil service in August 2006, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said he expected the position to be filled by the end of that calendar year. It wasn’t. In November 2006, the city’s director of personnel Richard Tranfaglia said the city planned to start the interview process in February and make a decision by March. That deadline was not met either.

“If you look at the timetables set in past press releases, it is clear the schedule has taken longer than anticipated,” said city spokesman Thomas P. Champion.

Alderman-at-Large William A. White said the delays could be due to the wealth of candidates. Seven candidates are already police chiefs and many more are senior law enforcement officials in urban communities similar to Somerville, Champion said.

However, Patrolmen’s Union President Jack Leutcher said the delays could be a way for Curtatone to fit his personal choice into the job. “We all know they want [current Acting Chief Robert R.] Bradley. Whatever’s holding this up is probably a plan to get him in there,” he said.

He supports Bradley for the job “not because of politics, but because Bradley has done a pretty good job so far,” he said.

Curtatone is in fact on the record as saying he already knows who he wants for the job. In a September 2005 interview with The Somerville News, Curtatone said Bradley would be his pick.

‚ÄúHe‚Äôll be my first choice based on his capabilities,‚Äù he said at the time. Curtatone will make the final choice on who the department‚Äôs next chief is and Bradley is one of the candidates for the job. 

Champion said Curtatone is still open to new candidates and will not make a decision until he learns more about the finalists. When the candidates are finally selected, they will participate in a July 10 community meeting in which they answer questions from the public, he said.

“Everyone in the city will have a chance to see these people in action and hold the mayor accountable on his choice,” he said.

The selection panel charged with narrowing the list of candidates to a final three to five choices consists of Tranfaglia, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, Multicultural Commission Director Aru Manrique, Somerville residents Ray Perrone, John Carreiro, Howard Horton and Jacques Dessin, police officer Bernadette Sullivan from the patrolmen‚Äôs union and police officer Daniel Hyde from the superior officer‚Äôs union.