- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Suisun City Police commander selected as new Clearlake Police chief
Andrew White, 33, who serves as commander and second-in-charge at the Suisun City Police Department, has been hired for the role, according to City Manager Greg Folsom.
“I’m thrilled to join the department,” White told Lake County News, adding that he’s also looking forward to being part of the community.
“Commander White brings a number of skills and 16 years of law enforcement experience to the department that will be a tremendous asset, including supervision experience in animal control and code enforcement and has been the technology go-to person in his current agency,” Folsom told Lake County News. “I am looking forward to having Andrew on board and continuing the positive improvements that we have made under Interim Chief Tim Celli in reducing crime in Clearlake.”
White said he and his family – including his wife and 8-year-old daughter – will live in Clearlake; he was busy this weekend with the move. White also has a 17-year-old stepson who just entered the Marine Corps.
The Whites already have connections to Lake County; he said his wife’s grandmother has lived in Clearlake for more than 50 years and his in-laws live in Kelseyville.
“So I was familiar with the area,” he said.
At its meeting on Thursday the Clearlake City Council will consider authorizing Folsom to appoint White and execute an employment contract.
The proposed employment contract between the city and White calls for a three-year initial term, with three months’ notice prior to its end by the city manager regarding whether the city will extend or end the contract.
The agreement can be extended in two-year increments upon mutual written agreement by the city and White. He will receive six months’ severance pay for termination without cause.
White will receive an annual salary of $130,000, and will be eligible for 5-percent POST Executive Certificate incentive pay after two years on the job.
He also will have use of a vehicle, a cell phone allowance and a one-time relocation expense of $5,000, and the city will pay dues and expenses for his professional development.
Law enforcement career began early
White began his law enforcement career at age 17, starting out as a cadet with Suisun City Police when he was in college. Because he couldn’t be a cadet and a staffer with Suisun City at the same time, he began work as a police dispatcher at the Napa Police Department, where he worked from 2002 to 2004.
In 2004, when he was 19, he started as a full-time officer with Suisun City Police. His assignments ranged from patrol to school resource officer and recruit training officer. He supervised patrol, investigations, code enforcement and marine patrol. White also chairs the Solano County Law Enforcement Commanders Association.
For a brief time, beginning in November 2013, White went into the private sector to work for a computer software firm. He said he continued working part-time for Suisun City Police as a reserve officer, returning to full-time police work in May 2015 when he was hired as the agency’s commander.
White has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management/IT from Union Institute and University. He has attended the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, more commonly known as POST, and has five POST certificates – basic, intermediate, advanced, supervisory and management.
He has experience in law enforcement technology, is his agency’s primary media contact, is commander for the Solano County Mobile Field Force and a member of the California Police Chiefs Association Technology Committee.
Folsom said White has a passion for teaching and has been an instructor at the Napa Valley College Police Academy for more than a decade.
With Clearlake Police also supervising the city’s animal control services, White brings more key experience thanks to having chaired the Solano County Animal Control Authority.
The selection process
The selection of White resulted from a hiring process that began earlier this year, as Lake County News has reported.
In December, city officials announced the retirement of Chief Craig Clausen, who had been off for two years due to an injury with Lt. Tim Celli as acting chief since December 2015.
The council then appointed Celli interim chief and in February hired Ralph Andersen & Associates to lead the executive search process for the new chief, which included a public meeting later that month to gather community input.
The city’s hiring brochures said the next chief needed to be “experienced, well qualified, and possess exceptional skills to be a leader – not just an administrator.”
It listed the ideal candidate as “confident, experienced, and hard-working,” with an unwavering, positive attitude, the ability to motivate and build strong team culture, the ability to work in the field, be a fixture in the community and “be authentic, of the highest integrity, and possess
a good moral compass.”
“At all times, the Chief of Police must set the bar high for ethical conduct, professionalism, and the advocacy of Clearlake. The Chief must be of impeccable character, and a role model for both members of the Department and the community,” the brochure said.
White said that when he was considering applying for the job, he and his family came for a visit in order to check out the community.
They liked it and he decided to move forward with applying, explaining that there are a lot of similarities between Clearlake and Suisun City in terms of challenges and opportunities.
White said it also seemed like a good time to get closer to his wife’s family and to change to a less-urban area; Suisun City has 28,000 people in a five-square-mile area, about twice Clearlake’s population.
He said he has a solid background in code enforcement – an area in which he knew the city was looking for experience – plus Suisun City, like Clearlake, is a community where water plays an important role.
Folsom said the recruiting firm received 22 applications for the police chief’s job and telephone screened all of them.
The screening narrowed the applicants to a group recommended to be interviewed by a community panel, Folsom said.
From that panel interview, the three top candidates were recommended for a final interview with a panel consisting of Folsom and the city council.
Last month, Folsom confirmed to Lake County News that the top candidate had been selected and that the city was in the final steps of doing an in-depth background that took several weeks to complete.
The result of that background was to confirm that White is “an officer of the highest character,” coming highly recommended by his current chief at Suisun City, his fellow officers, and past and present Solano County chiefs, according to Folsom’s report for the council meeting.
Folsom said all of the associates interviewed by the background investigator called White “highly intelligent, ethical and an outstanding candidate for chief,” with excellent annual evaluations and no negatives in his personnel file.
“By all accounts he is exceptionally intelligent, has a calm demeanor and is an excellent communicator,” Folsom told Lake County News Monday.
Celli also had applied for the chief’s job. A longtime member of the department, Celli has been successful at getting the department much-needed new equipment and keeping staffing levels up.
He said in a previous interview that he’s looking forward “to working with a new chief with some fresh ideas.”
White said that when he starts work, he wants to look at the organization and see how things are done, explaining that he knows there are heavy service demands on the department.
“There’s a lot of opportunities,” he said.
At the same time, asked about priorities, he said, “I think, clearly, recruitment and retention are important,” because if they don’t have the staff, they can’t do the job, which impacts the community.
The Clearlake Police Department has 23.5 sworn officer positions and 10.5 full-time equivalent positions for professional support staff, and a $4 million budget.
White said that in speaking with Celli he understands the department now has four unfilled officer positions.
Across the spectrum in law enforcement, recruitment is a challenge, particularly in smaller cities, White said.
In the face of its challenges, White said there have been a lot of good things that have happened at the Clearlake Police Department, and he’ll work with staff to continue to make improvements, and to help them become more efficient and responsive.
Folsom said White will be sworn in at the council’s July 26 meeting, with a reception to follow.
White, who has a few weeks left with Suisun City Police, said his first official day on the job as Clearlake Police’s chief will be Monday, July 30.
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