By MARK BELKO and ED BLAZINA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh Director of Operations Dennis Regan will add the title of public safety director if City Council approves.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who took office last month after Bob O’Connor died, announced Mr. Regan’s appointment yesterday and submitted three other names to council for appointment to city authorities. Council was expected to begin the process of approving the appointments today.
Mr. Ravenstahl described Mr. Regan as the “correct fit” for the public safety director’s job because he already oversees the police, fire, and paramedic bureaus in his capacity as director of operations. Appointing him director of public safety will allow him to act in disciplinary matters in the police, fire and emergency medical services operations.
For years, the position has been held on an acting basis by Kathy Kraus, who also is head of the Office of Municipal Investigations. Police union President Jim Malloy said yesterday that he asked Mr. Ravenstahl to appoint someone else because as head of OMI, Ms. Kraus had to approve discipline against an officer and then as public safety director would hear appeals of the same discipline.
Mr. Malloy said he considered it important to have someone independent hear appeals before a case goes to an outside arbitrator and had no problem with Mr. Regan’s appointment.
“The public safety director will be primarily an intermediary type person that when there’s a dispute within the Bureau of Police or the Bureau of Fire, Dennis will then intervene on behalf of the mayor’s office,” Mr. Ravenstahl said.
“You have to have somebody independent of perhaps the union and independent of the bureau and so it’s appropriate to have somebody from the mayor’s office to do just that. And as director of operations, Dennis was the appropriate fit.”
Asked why Mr. Regan needed the title of public safety director if he already was overseeing the bureaus in his current job, Mr. Ravenstahl replied, “You have to have the title of public safety director in order to have any authority to intervene in a dispute.”
Mr. Ravenstahl quickly dismissed a question asking whether there was concern his administration was becoming the “Dennis Regan administration.” Mr. Regan was a close ally of Mr. O’Connor whose power increased while Mr. O’Connor was battling fatal brain cancer.
“Not at all. I don’t see why that would be the case. He’s a capable person, capable of being the director of public safety. By no means is that the case,” he said.
Mr. Regan will be paid as director of operations. He will not get any extra money as public safety director.
Council President Doug Shields agreed there is a need for a titular public safety director even if the department was eliminated as a separate entity under Mr. Murphy. He said he didn’t anticipate any problem winning council approval.
The other appointments were Chief of Staff Yarone Zober to the Urban Redevelopment Authority board, replacing former chief of staff B.J. Leber; Planning Director Pat Ford replacing Mr. Zober on the Pittsburgh Parking Authority board; and Doris Carson Williams, head of the African American Chamber of Commerce, replacing Jacques Miles on the Pittsburgh Housing Authority board.
Mr. Ravenstahl said he wants Mr. Zober to become chair of the powerful URA board. Ms. Leber was the chair before being fired by Mr. O’Connor in July. William Rudolph has been serving as acting chair since then.
“Historically, the chairman of the URA board and many of the authorities have always been an administrative person from the mayor’s office. So that’s something we’ll have to deal with over the next couple of weeks, but we’d like to see certainly Yarone in that position,” Mr. Ravenstahl said.
Mr. Shields said he was pleased with Mr. Zober’s and Ms. Williams’ appointments, noting that Mr. Zober had worked in neighborhood development under then-councilman Jim Ferlo.