San Jose hires new fire chief from Arizona who has Bay Area ties
- June 15, 2010
San Jose hires new fire chief from Arizona who has Bay Area ties
The popular fire chief of Scotts- dale, Ariz., will lead the 700-person San Jose Fire Department through the challenges of shrinking budgets and bitter union battles.
William L. "Willie" McDonald, 52, was selected by City Manager Deb Figone and on Tuesday was confirmed unanimously by the City Council as the city's new fire chief.
McDonald, 52, who in 2004 developed Scottsdale's first municipal fire department will start his new job in San Jose on Aug. 2.
"This honor to me is the pinnacle of my career," said McDonald, who also was previously fire chief in San Mateo, Foster City and Fremont.
"Willie has the experience, knowledge and leadership skills to build a strong relationship with our firefighters while managing the challenging problems that face a large metropolitan fire department during really fiscally challenging times," Figone said in a statement.
McDonald, who will be paid $211,000 a year, succeeds Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld, a San Jose department veteran who is retiring after 33 years. Von Raesfeld had been acting chief since 2006 and Figone officially appointed him to the job two years ago.
Despite his tenure, Von Raesfeld endured a rocky relationship with the firefighters union. Just months after he was named to the post, the firefighters union voted to declare lack of confidence in his leadership, though Figone was steadfast in defending him.
Several issues drove tensions, including shrinking budgets and the need to reduce soaring wage and benefit costs for firefighters while maintaining service with a thinly staffed department. In addition, a sexual harassment crackdown followed a female firefighters lawsuit over station house pornography that the city settled for $200,000 last year.
The firefighters union has been criticized as well, most recently in a 2009 civil grand jury report that accused union leaders of being needlessly hostile with city management.
McDonald said he is very aware of the tensions but sees the job as a challenge.
"I knew that, and I wanted the job," McDonald said. "It's an opportunity to make a difference. The union has been very open for conversations with me. So I'll be working on making that a priority from the beginning. "... If you really want to make some change in the organization, you have to do it together and you have to start from the beginning. Bring them in early and listen."
Randy Sekany, president of the San Jose Firefighters union, called McDonald's hiring "exciting" and said having him as chief "will be a fresh new start, something San Jose firefighters will be happy about." The fact McDonald took on "a unique challenge in Scottsdale" and served as chief in the other cities will be valued experience in San Jose, Sekany said.
In Scottsdale, officials and firefighters expressed great regret and sadness that their fire chief is leaving for San Jose.
"He was an outstanding employee," said Scottsdale City Manager David Richert, noting he created a fire department from scratch. Now Scottsdale has "a highly respected group of folks who do a great job."
When he would appear before the Scottsdale City Council, "there was hearty support and a lot of attention paid to what he would say," Richert said. "Generally, the council would either give direction based on what he said or go with what his recommendations were. Your gain is our big loss. He was unbelievably liked."
McDonald says having worked at three other Bay Area departments, he is already familiar with San Jose's department.
He said he has known Von Raesfeld a long time and that the outgoing chief had encouraged him to apply for the job. He said he also has spoken with Sekany about the union's concerns.
McDonald, who is African-American, started his career in 1978 in Fresno where he grew up, and also worked in Foster City, San Mateo and Fremont. Six years ago he went to Scottsdale, where he led the city of 226,000 through a transition from a privately contracted fire service to a municipal fire department.
During his time in Fremont, McDonald "was very popular," said Fremont Deputy Chief Geoff LaTendresse.
"He was a very good listener, and he did a lot to bring us together," LaTendresse said. "He has sort of an infectious personality."
McDonald, who is married and has two sons attending college, has a master's in business administration from Cal State Hayward and a bachelor's in biology from Fresno State. He said he had initially considered a career in medicine before deciding on the fire service.
City officials began the search for a new chief in December when Von Raesfeld announced his retirement, with an outreach process that included six community meetings and several interview panels and attracted 32 candidates from across the country.