The Mayor Can Fire His Police Commissioners — But He Has to Give Them a Hearing First
Judge Langley rules that Mayor Phelps had the power to remove Commissioners Cheasty and Niggle, but that he skipped the required notice and hearing. Now the hearing looks like a formality — with the mayor sitting as his own judge.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The decision of Judge Langley in the case of Commissioners Cheasty and Niggle does not touch upon the merits of the controversy between these officials and the mayor, but simply decides that the mayor should have observed certain forms in making the removals.
Under the decision of the court the mayor has power to remove the commissioners for cause, but before the removal the court holds that there must be notice and a hearing of the charges against them.
Inasmuch as the mayor will be the judge of the sufficiency of the grounds for removal it is apparent that the hearing is merely a matter of form. Mayor Phelps is too just a man to have acted without due consideration, and it is safe to assume that in the event of a public hearing he will amply justify the course that he has pursued.
The charges against Commissioner Niggle are of a serious nature, and if substantiated furnish ample grounds for his removal. The charges against Commissioner Cheasty, however, are of an entirely different character. While they may not imply anything personally dishonorable they certainly do imply a reckless disregard of the interests of the police department and its efficient administration.
“The mayor has power to remove the commissioners for cause, but before the removal there must be notice and a hearing of the charges against them.”
A mayor removes his appointees, a court says he must first give them notice and a hearing, and everyone treats the hearing as a formality because the mayor is also the judge of the grounds for removal. Modern Seattle still argues over how much unilateral power a mayor should have to fire department heads — and how much due process those officials are owed.
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