Point – Counterpoint: Measure B, City of Santa Clara

One of the biggest issues facing the City of Santa Clara on the March 5 is Measure B – a ballot measure designed to change the City’s Charter and make the position of police chief appointed by the city manager instead of the current system in which the chief is elected. Because this is a major issue facing the City, The Weekly has reached out to both the Yes on Measure B and No on Measure B campaigns to offer a point/counterpoint to the argument.

Christine Koltermann, who served on the Charter Review Committee that recommended the charter change wrote the Yes on Measure B responses. Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nikolai wrote the No on Measure B responses.

Both sides were asked similar questions and their responses are presented to you unedited.

Why do you believe Santa Clara’s police chief should be appointed?

Koltermann: The current elected system does not give voters a choice. In 6 of the last 9 elections, one candidate for police chief ran unopposed. It’s deceptive to give voters a ballot with only one candidate who has been pre-selected for them.

Residency limits who can be chief. Data from City Staff show only 10 out of 153 sworn police officers live here so the candidate pool is slim. Highly qualified internal candidates who are nonresidents, such as assistant chiefs, are not eligible.

Santa Clara is the last city in California to elect its police chief. Appointing the police chief would depoliticize the position.

Police chief is an administrative position which should be appointed by the City Manager like all other department heads. An appointed police chief would be hired based on qualifications and experience, receive annual evaluations, be accountable for job performance, and be required to maintain exemplary professional conduct.

Why do you believe Santa Clara’s police chief should be elected?

Nikolai: Public safety and accountability. As an elected Chief, public safety is the only priority. The chief is insulated from politics. Proponents of Measure B allege the opposite, but the truth is that it doesn’t matter who the council majority is, the elected Chief’s only duty is to ensure the safety of Santa Clara. They are free to speak against the council majority and not have to worry about losing their job. An appointed Chief will have their own self-interests as part of their decision-making process. Would an appointed Chief have called out the council majority based on a Civil Grand Jury report? Or when a council member was indicted? Not if they wanted to keep their job. An elected Chief is accountable to the voters, not any special interest. When you look at the money that special interests have poured into Santa Clara council races, this independence is priceless.

One of the many common refrains in this debate has been the concept of tradition, Santa Clara has always done it this way, but the police system has changed. How has the role of police chief changed within the City of Santa Clara over the years?

Koltermann: Santa Clara has changed dramatically since the Charter was adopted in 1952, growing by 987% from 11,702 residents in 1950 with a majority white population to a diverse population of 127,151 in 2021.

The police chief has not always been elected in Santa Clara; the 1952 charter was adopted with an appointed system.

“Santa Clara has always done it this way” was used to try to keep our former discriminatory seat system of Council elections; voters wisely chose to change the charter to have 6 districts in accordance with the judge’s ruling in the CVRA lawsuit. Our district system gives us a Council which better represents our diverse population.

The San Jose Mercury News notes that “having an elected chief has created ridiculous lines of authority” including “the two assistant police chiefs report to the city manager. And the city manager hires and disciplines officers.”

Nikolai: While the tools have changed, the basics of police work, and the role of Police Chief, have remained the same. The biggest change is that the public has unprecedented transparency into the world of policing. And what has that transparency shown? That Santa Clara Police Officers are some of the best. They continue to provide exceptional service to the community, responding to calls that other jurisdictions would simply ignore. The role of the Chief is to ensure that this level of service is the standard. This is done by ensuring that the proper resources are dedicated appropriately. For example, expanding the traffic unit and re-establishing a school unit. It is also the Chief’s responsibility to ensure that every employee at the department provides this level of service daily. This message is instilled in our employees from their first day on the job and continues to be reinforced every day.

Do you believe the current qualifications for Santa Clara police chief helps the City acquire the best talent to address these changes?

Koltermann: While all other cities in California set their own qualifications for appointed chief of police, Santa Clara’s Charter follows State Law minimum requirements for County Sheriff, which is a high school diploma and four year’s experience in law enforcement. Our Charter limits Santa Clara’s ability to establish its own specific requirements for police chief. An appointed police chief process would allow Santa Clara to tailor the qualifications for police chief to better fit the specific needs and priorities of our community, and allow for stakeholder input to city staff for developing the qualifications Santa Clarans would like to have in our police chief. An appointed position would allow Santa Clara to cast a wide net, perform a nationwide search, and attract candidates with the education, supervisory experience in law enforcement, and qualifications necessary to effectively lead the police department and address the evolving needs of our diverse community.

Nikolai: The Charter stipulates that the Chief must have the same qualifications as a candidate for the office of Sheriff. This ensures that Chief will be a sworn police officer with a significant amount of training and experience. The other requirement is that the candidate be a resident of Santa Clara. I would argue that this requirement is a key aspect of the Chief’s job. Being a member of the community ensures that the Chief will be responsive to residents’ needs, experiences local issues first hand and will be an active member in local programs. (I’m a board member of the Mission City Community Fund and a dues paying member of the Senior Center). Would a commuting Chief care as much about a neighbor’s concerns?

The Police Officer’s Association has consistently backed candidates for police chief. As an association that represents the entirety of the SCPD, do you believe it is okay for the SCPOA to endorse candidates and why or why not?

Koltermann: According to the list of who is represented by SCPOA on their website, the SCPOA does not represent the entirety of SCPD because upper management is not represented.

Public employee unions are legally allowed to endorse candidates. The problem arises when voters aren’t given a choice because there’s only one police chief candidate on the ballot chosen by SCPOA months prior to the election, and when other highly qualified candidates, such as former assistant police chief Dan Winter, are discouraged from running (SVV, 2019).  SCPOA’s selection of and endorsement of only one candidate for police chief does a disservice to voters.

A separate entity, the SCPOA political action committee is funding the campaign to keep the chief elected. FPPC filings indicate this PAC is receiving tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from outside of Santa Clara (SVV, 2024). Santa Clarans are weary of outside entities funding political campaigns here.

Nikolai: The Police Officers’ Association (POA) does not represent the entirety of the department. They are the association for sworn officers, sergeants and lieutenants only. They do not represent command staff level officers or any of the professional staff. I am not a member of the POA, but in my opinion it is completely appropriate for the POA to endorse a candidate. Other POA’s weigh in on their Chief selections, even when the candidates are appointed. POA’s want the same thing everyone else does, a strong leader who knows the department and City they are going to represent. That is why most Chiefs are promoted from within. Of the 11 municipal agencies in this county, 9 have Chiefs promoted from within. The fallacy of the “nationwide search” is spouted by proponents of Measure B, but the numbers don’t lie.

Will the Yes on Measure B campaign support an elected police chief if voters decide to go that route?

Koltermann: Santa Clarans will support our police department regardless of the outcome of this election, and want SCPD to be a desirable place of employment. However, most Santa Clarans do not support politics meddling in our chief position.  Anything less than an appointive position will always allow political influence in the police chief job, from the promotion of only one candidate on the ballot, to endorsements, fundraising, and campaigning, none of which have anything to do with the actual job of police chief.  For that reason, Santa Clarans must improve how we select Santa Clara’s police chief by voting Yes on Measure B to amend our City Charter to appoint our police chief.  Our Charter is a living document which needs to be updated periodically to better meet the needs of our growing and diverse community, and voting Yes on Measures A and B will serve our community well.

Will the Police Officers Association support an appointed police chief if voters decide to go that route?

Nikolai: The POA will support the voter’s decision 100%.  That is the essence of democracy. And that is why we are fighting so hard to defeat this measure. At its core, Measure B takes away the voice of the people. How does changing a democratically elected position to a bureaucratically appointed one empower our community? It doesn’t. Don’t be fooled. Vote No on Measure B. Keep your voice. Keep your Chief.