Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll announces finalists for police chief
Four finalists to meet with diverse community stakeholder group
Wicked Local
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll has made public the names of four finalists vying to be the city s next police chief.
The city kicked off the search for the next police chief last month. In early December, the Salem City Council OK’d a $30,000 request from Driscoll to fund what she has described as an intensive and robust assessment center for evaluating candidates.
“As a diagnostic tool, it can evaluate the knowledge, skills, abilities and personal characteristics of candidates,” wrote Driscoll in a Dec. 3 cover letter to her funding request. “Candidates engage in a program of activities and simulations correlated to tasks that they would be expected to carry out as a successful chief.”
February 22, 6:00 p.m., www.salem.com/raceequityforum – Click on the link on Monday to attend Salem’s RETF forum
SALEM, Mass. Salem’s Race Equity Task Force will hold its first public forum to share updates on the progress of their work and take questions from the public. The event takes place online on Monday, February 22nd at 6:00 p.m. at www.salem.com/raceequityoforum (link available Monday) and is open to all.
The Race Equity Task Force was convened in June 2020 by Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll to help conduct a thorough review of City policies and services, as well as community systems, through a lens of racial equity and justice. The Task Force consists of over two dozen residents and community leaders and is chaired by Shawn Newton.
Salem fire chief to retire in February, Mayor Kim Driscoll announces
Wicked Local
Salem Fire Chief John “Gerry” Giunta will retire from the Salem Fire Department on Feb. 26 after 38 years of firefighting service to the city, Mayor Kim Driscoll announced on Jan. 14.
Last weeek s news arrived as the municipal government embarks on a police-chief search. In early December, the Salem City Council signed off on a $30,000 request from the mayor to fund what she described as an intensive and robust assessment center for evaluating candidates.
Giunta joined the Salem Fire Department as a firefighter in 1983 and served on Engine 1 and Ladder 2. He served as lieutenant with Engines 1, 2, and 4 from 1986 to 1993, Captain on Ladder 1 and Tower 2 from 1993 to 2007, and as Deputy Chief from 2007 to 2018, when Driscoll appointed him to serve as Chief.