Wednesday, April 14, 1999
Covington fills No. 2 police job
On-and-off candidacy questioned
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — The selection of an assistant police chief ended Tuesday in a rare non-unanimous vote and with a winner who previously said he didn't want the job.
New Lt. Col. Tom Schonecker initially applied for the position, but withdrew his name the day the other five candidates were interviewed.
The 29-year veteran told the city commissioners then he didn't know how much longer he wanted to stay on the force before retiring. After he was appointed, he said that he'd changed his mind after talking with Chief Al Bosse and that he was ready to commit several years to the job.
But Commissioners Butch Callery and J.T. Spence said they knew nothing officially about Lt. Col. Schonecker's renewed candidacy until they showed up for the executive session 45 minutes before Tuesday's regular meeting.
Lt. Mike Kraft had enough notice about his promotion to Lt. Col. Schonecker's former job that he knew to show up in his dress uniform and bring family members. Two other officers promoted to lieutenant and sergeant also came and brought their families.
“I'm assuming everybody (else) knew this well prior to today,” Mr. Callery said after the meeting. “If people wouldn't have seen this, they wouldn't believe it. Maybe I'll find out later” what went on.
City Manager Greg Jarvis disagreed with claims that the deal must have been cooked up ahead of time, saying everyone had been told that Lt. Col. Schonecker asked to be put back into consideration.
Chief Bosse said little about the commissioners' comments, only that he thought he should be the one to choose his assistants. The decision technically, however, is the commission's, according to state law for second-class cities such as Covington.
Mr. Callery cast the only dissenting vote, saying he could not approve the appointment in good conscience because it was flawed. Mr. Spence voted for the promotion, but said he didn't want Lt. Col. Schonecker to think a “whirlwind of suspicion” would continue to hang over him.
“I would have preferred a process that clearly stated just who the candidates were and who the candidates weren't,” Mr. Spence said. “And I would have preferred a process that clearly stated what criteria we were to use to evaluate the candidates. This process we went through ... was not a process that would be held up as a good example for future use.”
Both called Lt. Col. Schonecker a good choice. He is a Navy veteran and joined the department in March 1970. Next to the chief, he is the most senior person on the department. He most recently was commander of the department's 2-year-old Strategic Support Division, which oversees the investigation of drugs as well as hate crimes, drug abatement and the department's special details team.
The assistant chief's position had been vacant since Jan. 31, when Lt. Col. Steve Schmidt left to become chief in Fort Thomas.
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