Oregon Public Broadcasting

In a break with recent Portland tradition, mayor-elect Sam Adams has decided he won’t run the city's police bureau himself.  Instead, commissioner Dan Saltzman will be the city's top cop.  Rob Manning reports.

At a hastily called press conference, Adams said he’s comfortable giving the job to the understated Dan Saltzman.

Sam Adams: “Commissioner Saltzman’s steady hand at the helm of the police leadership will allow Portland’s next mayor to focus on some very pressing priorities.”

Adams wants to focus on creating jobs and preparing for anticipated population growth. He says with crime rates low, the police don’t need the mayor’s direct supervision.

For months, city commissioner Randy Leonard was a favorite to run the police bureau. But the popular police chief, Rosie Sizer, chafed at the idea. Leonard’s withdrawal last week avoided a likely showdown with Sizer.

Sizer had only kind words for a police commissioner Saltzman.

Rosie Sizer: “Commissioner Dan Saltzman has a long history of commitment to public safety, particularly the most vulnerable in our community: children, the elderly, victims of domestic violence.”

Mayor-elect Adams had worked for the city during Sizer's controversial predecessors. She replaced Derrick Foxworth who was removed after a scandal involving another bureau employee.

Before that, police shootings and allegations of brutality dogged chief Mark Kroeker’s administration until he was forced out.

Adams says if  Saltzman had turned down the police commissioner job, he would have held onto the bureau. The alternative would have been to give the job to newcomer, Nick Fish, or to the winner of this fall’s race for the final council spot.