Letter: Shame, shame Mayor Holden

On Monday, Feb. 18, I watched on television the demise of common sense in Baton Rouge. An honorable and decent man, Police Chief Dewayne White, attempted to defend himself against numerous charges leveled by the mayor against his decisions as the leader of the Baton Rouge Police Department. Without any doubt in my mind, Chief White totally refuted all claims made against him by Mayor Kip Holden.

I have known Chief White for over 30 years and I know him to be a man dedicated to doing the right thing for the right reasons. He knew what was needed to bring the Baton Rouge Police Department into the 21st century and he did what was needed to be done. Because of his commitment to the city of Baton Rouge, he refused to allow politics to govern his police agency decisions. I say, “Bravo, Chief White.”

I, as much as anyone, knows what it costs to stand by your convictions. Chief White constantly tried to bring the city of Baton Rouge together as a progressive, growing city. He worked tirelessly to bring the various races and creeds into a unified effort to make Baton Rouge a better place to live.

Chief White has been fired, and regardless of what part the city police union played in the decision, the ultimate deciding factor has been Mayor Holden. To fire a man of vision and unquestioned, in my mind, a person of total dedication to doing what’s right for the city of Baton Rouge, is just plain wrong. I always thought Baton Rouge was moving in the right direction under the leadership of Mayor Holden. Now I think otherwise. Shame, shame Mayor Holden.

Jim Champagne

executive director,
Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, retired

Denham Springs

Comments

1) Comment by prbeav - 25/02/2013

I wish him the best, but feel Holden is not recoverable.

2) Comment by Chucky - 25/02/2013

Index finger crossing over index finger, pointing at Holden.

3) Comment by Hello Baton Rouge - 25/02/2013

The guy who made the decision to fire White (both times) was sitting to Mayor Holden's right hand. The one with the deer in the headlights look that uttered not a word the entire time and still has not uttered a word. he is Mayor Holden's (and yours) Chief Administrative Officer. He is also the guy we pay 6 figures to for not knowing that you are supposed to offer employees the chance to retain counsel when you are performing a separation, especially high profile employees like the police chief. Best I can figure between this guy and Holden's lack of understanding of the job they each hold, taxpayers will be paying out a pretty hefty settlement offer to White and Craft. Of course we'll never know the amount because like the box seats at the Bayou Country Superfest he freely distributed (that we paid for) and the amount of overtime Holden spent escorting his pal, Farrakhan, Holden will block the release of this public information, citing some completely elementary reason and his supporters will buy it and continue to support him. Holden and Katrina make a great team as they have both adversely affected Baton Rouge in a way that will take decades to overcome.

4) Comment by phil - 25/02/2013

Who was that sitting directly behind Mr. White in the audience at the hearing? Maybe Mayor Holden has a way out if this goes bad for him. Who made the recommendation to fire Mr. White? A lot of questions need to be answered on this one I think, and I hope we all get to hear them before this is over.

5) Comment by twinkie1cat - 25/02/2013

Hello Baton Rouge: I agree. Holden was acting like Sen. David Vitter when he got caught with his pants down. Either stand for what you believe to the press or don't do anything you are ashamed of. The mayor forgot to dot his "I"s in firing White and had to backtrack. In backtracking he made White look like a hero and himself and his lawyer look like sexist idiots. If someone needs to be gotten rid of, calmly and rationally present a solid case. Don't do a power struggle. And remember, the press is always watching. A free press is the watchdog of freedom.

6) Comment by twinkie1cat - 25/02/2013

I heard from a police officer that the head of the union wants to run for mayor after Kip's term is up and so needs to become police chief. So firing White is probably nothing more than a way to secure his place in line.

7) Comment by twinkie1cat - 25/02/2013

The hearing for Chief White was a formality. You could see by his face and his tone that Holden was upset that he even had to hold one. White could have presented 20 witnesses and DNA evidence and he would have still been fired. Holden wanted to get rid of him and was determined to do so. He disgraced himself by pulling a Bobby Jindal and reduced his likability to little more than that of our dictator governor.

8) Comment by dday198 - 25/02/2013

if i'm the mayor and i don't like the direction of any department under my watch i will micro-manage it as long as i see fit.

9) Comment by dday198 - 25/02/2013

hello baton rouge you seem to have a lot of inside information that's not available to me so i can't speak on most of your post but i guess time will tell if the mayor was wrong or his critics are just that, critics. most of the posts that I've seen here are just bashing the policeman's union influence by people that if it wasn't the policeman's union they were bashing it would be some other union so it's hard to take their post with more than a grain of salt.

10) Comment by Hello Baton Rouge - 25/02/2013

dday198 is correct, it doesn't make the other guy bad. What does, however, make the other guy bad is as follows: Being elected to lead a city, but neither you nor your CAO know the proper method for an employee separation, therefore, your city will be paying through the nose for representation and the large amount of litigation to follow due to your incompetence. Micromanaging a police dept instead of letting the guy YOU appointed do so. Hiring a guy to run a police dept and praising him for his work right up until the day that your out-of-touch CAO issues a letter of termination. Having your CAO issue a letter that clearly states 'termination effective immediately' and then telling the press that it was not a termination letter. Not even paying attention to a man who is rebutting a letter than you presented him listing reasons for his termination. Telling WAFB that you cant release information about a police escort because its considered information on how you handle terrorism, then, the next week (after the election is over), releasing the information (really?). Running from the camera like you just got busted with a 14 year old by Chris Hansen on Dateline, instead of stopping and speaking with the reporter like someone who was elected by the people and explaining to them that you don't discuss personnel matters. Spending more time on 3rd street partying than you spend at home with your wife and family. Those are what makes your mayor a bad guy.

11) Comment by dday198 - 25/02/2013

and your a good friend. the kind of friend sticks by a friend when the chips are down. the kind of friend that everyone needs. but that doesn't make the other guy bad.

12) Comment by gary - 25/02/2013

Wow, another "out-of-towner worried about our Mayor.