Windsor looks to hire new police chief by October to replace Bellaire

The city of Windsor is aiming to hire a new police chief this fall, the board that oversees the force said Thursday. 

The board confirmed during a regular meeting that it's looking to finish the recruitment process by October to allow for some transition time between the outgoing and incoming chiefs.

"It's a huge undertaking, it's a huge commitment of time," Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac, chair of the police board, said of the hiring process.

The current chief, Jason Bellaire, is set to retire in November — three years into his five-year contract. He announced his departure in early February, a month after an internal investigation substantiated allegations he made racist comments to a Black officer. He has not commented on the probe's findings or said why he is leaving early. 

Bellaire is the second Windsor police chief in a row to step down partway through a contract. His predecessor, Pam Mizuno, abruptly retired in 2022, citing a desire to spend more time with family. 

At Thursday's meeting, Gignac sought to form a committee to work alongside Odgers Berndtson, the global executive search firm the board has hired to help handle the hiring process. 

Gignac, citing time constraints and a recommendation from the firm, proposed limiting that committee to three people: herself, Mayor Drew Dilkens, and board member Sophia Chisholm. 

But fellow board member Robert de Verteuil expressed concerns the full board would not be involved this time, as it has been in the past. 

"I'm not sure there's a more important job we have than picking the police chief," he said. 

"And if you can commit to being there every day and participating fully, I think that's great," Gignac replied. "But I know that there are work commitments." 

She also said the full board would be "apprised" as the committee moves along in its work.

"I think we ought to be involved," de Verteuil responded. "It's absolutely the most important thing that we do."

"I think we would be abandoning our duty to sit that out," he added. 

Gignac countered by saying they need "consistency in terms of the whole exercise," meaning regular attendance by those involved.

"True, but I don't think choosing the mayor, a councillor, and a city executive are people that are less busy than the members of the board," de Verteuil said.

Norma Coleman, the board's administrative director, also said that a meeting with four or more board members would constitute a formal board meeting.

The board agreed to conduct an e-poll — and electronic vote — on the formation of the committee to allow those who weren't present on Thursday to have their say.

Coleman did not respond to emailed questions regarding the cost or reason for choosing Odgers Berndtson, which also worked on the hiring process that led to Bellaire getting the top job. 

After the meeting, Gignac told reporters that in previous chief hiring processes where the full board was involved, "the problem arose where" members weren't present for interviews with all of the candidates.

"You can't pop in and sit for one and not for two, do three and four, and then vote. You just can't handle it that way," she said.

"It's a huge time commitment, and we do recognize that not everybody can do that there. We have business men and women that are on that board."  

Representatives from Odgers Berndtson attended the board meeting virtually on Thursday, saying one of their first steps in the hiring process would be to understand what both the board and other local stakeholders are looking for in a new chief. 

"The consultations will really inform the type of leadership experience that's going to be particularly important in this context," said Tanya Todorovic, one of the firm's partners. 

Todorovic said they would then prepare a job posting, ideally by the end of June, and spend the following five to six weeks evaluating potential candidates. Odgens would then bring the board a shortlist of candidates to determine which ones will be interviewed, she said. 

Those interviews would happen in August and September, Todorovic said, and the recruitment process would wrap up by the end of September.

Amanda Bugatto, another Odgers employee, said they were working on the assumption their outreach to potential candidates will be national in scale. 

"We're looking at [police] services of a certain scale that are similar to Windsor," she said. "Someone who would have the scale and scope and breadth of leadership experience that they could step into a role such as this."

Gignac said in any case, a new chief will have to lead the force at a time when "the landscape of policing has changed," even just in recent years. 

"We weren't dealing with homelessness, mental health issues and drug related issues, addiction issues to the extent that we are now," she said.

"Police are being asked to do a variety of things that, you know, we scratch our heads," she added. "It'll be interesting to do those interviews and get their perspectives."