Former Mayor John Bell's decision to appoint police Lt. Michael McLeod to be the acting chief in early 2003 was politically motivated, according to Councilor Jason Grow.
The unannounced part of the arrangement, Grow claimed during a public meeting Monday night, was McLeod's pre-agreement not to run for mayor against Bell in 2005 in exchange for the interim promotion.
Grow's assertion of a deal was made to underscore the point that the civil service selection system that governed Bell's choice of McLeod and later John Beaudette to be chief was as political as an open selection system outside civil service would be.
Grow has been fighting to liberate the selection of the police and fire chiefs from civil service, a process that requires the mayor to appoint only from the ranks of officers.
During debate Monday on his order for a home rule for removing the city from the civil service laws for the selection of chiefs, Grow was countering claims that the civil service system insulated the selection from politics when he alleged that both Beaudette and McLeod's selections were somewhat politicized.
Speaking to Beaudette, Grow recalled that Bell decided to choose Beaudette as chief even though he finished third on the assessment of the three candidates.
"You finished third, so there was a political assessment," said Grow.
Then, he made the claim of a quid pro quo between Bell and McLeod.
Referring to McLeod, Grow said, "You were chosen primarily so that you wouldn't run against him."
Sitting next to Beaudette, McLeod seemed shocked to hear the allegation.
The tape recording of the hearing does not provide a clear sense of McLeod's precise response.
But City Clerk Robert Whynott, sitting close to both chiefs, said he heard McLeod say, "That might be the way things work in San Francisco (where Grow grew up), but I was born here."
Bell and McLeod did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment. But James McKenna, Bell's chief adviser during the period in question, said yesterday there was no political deal between the mayor and McLeod.
The appointment, said McKenna, "was not politically motivated at all."
In early 2003, Bell faced the dilemma of naming a successor to longtime Chief James Marr, who announced his decision to retire. McKenna said McLeod's interim appointment was part of a contractual arrangement in which McLeod agreed not to seek the permanent position of chief after his acting appointment expired at the end of 2004.
Personnel director David Bain declined to confirm the existence in his files of any letter or contract between McLeod and the city, and Bain required a written request for access to any such document before he would begin processing the search for it. The Times filed the request yesterday afternoon.
McKenna said the arrangement allowed Bell to organize a meticulous competition within the civil service system for the permanent position of chief. He used an independent assessment team to rank the three candidates, Lts. Michael Lane, Joseph Aiello and Beaudette.
Beaudette, despite ranking third, was Bell's choice.
"It was an exceptionally difficult decision," said McKenna, now in private legal practice.
McLeod stepped out of his career as a police officer at the end of 2004 and into politics, using his retirement party to launch a campaign for City Council. He also did not hide his hopes of running for mayor, but he said at the time he would not run against Bell in 2005.
A year later — at the start of 2006, before Bell announced he would not seek a fourth term — McLeod announced his campaign for the mayor's office. He was eliminated in the preliminary election last September.
Grow said he learned of the quid pro quo from McLeod's small talk and chatter within the political community.
"It was rumbled about," he said.
Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
