Springfield NAACP President Talbert Swan calls for national search for next fire commissioner

The Republican ^

[matt04]

Local NAACP chapter president Rev. Talbert W. Swan II has called on the city to conduct a national search for a new fire commissioner, rather than lowering hiring qualifications to allow acting Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant to keep the job.

One day after winning re-election as president of the Springfield NAACP chapter, Swan said the handling of the fire commissioner’s vacancy suggests that politics, rather than professional credentials and experience, is the prime concern of Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and other city officials.

“Watering down the requirements for the sake of a single preferred candidate sends a questionable message to the rank and file within the fire department, our youth and city residents,” Swan said.

“It only solidifies the well-known adage that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” he added.

Sarno announced his support for Conant two weeks ago, insisting a national search was unnecessary because the acting commissioner was a “highly qualified individual with hands-on experience.”

The job requirements include a master’s degree in fire science and seven years experience as deputy chief, neither of which Conant possesses.

In announcing support for Conant, the mayor asked the City Council to change the requirements to an associate’s degree and two years of experience as deputy chief.

Swan said a national search was conducted before filling the superintendent of schools and police commissioner posts, and should be used to find the most qualified candidate for fire commissioner too.

By not seeking outside applicants, the city is also calling attention to its troubled history in hiring and promoting minorities within the Fire Department, Swan said.

[matt04]

Just in case you were wondering, Conant is white. I highly doubt the "Rev." Swan would have said a peep if the proposed candidate by Mayor Sarno was black, qualifications be dammed.

[gov_bean_ counter]

The only thing color blind in this man’s world is the person who picked out that tie...

[SatinDoll]

I applied for a job with a nationally-known lumber company and fit their requirements to a “T”.

The requirements were changed so a lesser qualified, lesser educated friend of the department head could get the job.

That is the reality of small-town living.