Election: Measure B could change how Santa Clara selects police chief
Should the city's police chief be elected or appointed?
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- Residents in Santa Clara are voting on a measure that can change how the city selects their police chief.
Officials say it's the only city in the state where residents still elect a police chief.
If Measure B passes, that could change the position to one appointed by city officials.
You can't miss this billboard by the Santa Clara Police Officer's Association off El Camino.
They're urging voters to vote "No on Measure B."
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Jeremy Schmidt is the president of the POA.
"The Santa Clara residents right now have the power to control the police department, they are the direct constituents to the chief of police," Schmidt said.
The Santa Clara Police Union believes an elected chief makes them more accountable and reachable to residents.
"What you have to say, what you want to see done is not filtered through a government bureaucrat's lens - it's not a game of telephone like what you see in a lot of other Bay Area cities, it's not screened by a police commission," Schmidt said.
On the other side, those who are "Yes for Measure B" question the current system.
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"Out of six of the last nine elections for chief of police, there was only one person on the ballot," Santa Clara City Council member Suds Jain said.
A point of contention has to do with the requirement that the police chief must be a Santa Clara resident; if "Yes on Measure B" wins, that could change to a nationwide search for a new police chief.
"In the olden days, it used to be that the majority of officers lived in the city; now we have 153 sworn officers but only 10 of them live in the city so that's our pool to elect from," Jain said.
City Council member Karen Hardy is also a supporter for a yes vote for Measure B.
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She wants to see a competitive field for a police chief.
"You don't really have a vote if you don't really have choices, if you only have one person on the ballot, that's not a choice, or if that person is picked by another association. We want Santa Clara to have the very best police chief possible," Hardy said.
Both sides hope residents show their voice by their vote.
"We think for such a significant change in the way that the city is policed, it's super important that the residents know what's going on - they know they have a right, they know they know they have something to lose," Schmidt said.
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