Why can't we elect our police chief?

We’re all for unionized workers. Unions have helped make Northern Minnesota great, and — as a practical matter — they help bridge the gap between management, who is experienced and adept at negotiating, and workers who, well, are good at their jobs.

But it struck us as curious that the lame-duck Cloquet City Council suddenly decided to endorse unionization for the police chief and the department’s two commanders. After all, this is the same city council that felt suspending the last police chief at a quickly called “emergency meeting” was the appropriate way to deal with news of dissatisfaction in the police department.

Obviously, the outgoing city council is protecting its favored son. And, it’s obviously misguided. And it’s an obvious abuse of the lame-duck city council’s power. And, frankly, it’s kind of a “screw you” to the citizens of Cloquet, who resoundedly voted this council out in the last election. For those reasons, the four councilors supporting the unionization should be ashamed of themselves.

But at the same time, we support unionization and all the benefits unions offer for both workers and the city. So, even though we feel the council did so for the wrong reasons, we support the unionization of the police chief and the commanders.

But it’s still flawed. And, the new plan doesn’t unionize enough. The police chief, who directly supervises the commanders, should not be in the same union with his fellow administrators. Thus, two unions should be created: one for the commanders, and one for all city department heads, including the police chief. Just like Hibbing did.

Anyone following the city council the past two years knows that something just isn’t right. If this lame-duck council wants to make its mark on the city of Cloquet in its last few sessions, they would be advised to make it a positive mark. Support unionizing all the city department heads, and another for the high-level subordinates. It takes the politics out of these positions and allows workers to focus on their jobs.

Otherwise, we may have to suggest that we start electing our police chief — and further politicizing such a job is just about one of the worst ideas we’ve heard.

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