To the editor,
For a guy wanting to be sheriff whose public mantra is to take politics out of law enforcement, Patrick Melvin seems to be just as much of a politician as every other politician.
Let’s recap his history:
Melvin retired from the Phoenix Police Department in 2006. Then, upon his retirement, he gets hired as Maricopa’s first cop.
Two years later, in 2008 in a politically charged management reshuffling, he was named the city’s public safety director, overseeing police, fire, code enforcement and animal control, and in 2010 was named assistant city manager. He stayed in Maricopa until 2011. A lot of controversy, political angst, unhappy cops and residents during his tenure. Some folks would say he did a lousy job, with officers hired who should have been fired.
I agree.
In 2011, he left Maricopa to become the police chief at Salt River Police Department. During his tenure at Salt River, Melvin applied to be police chief in Seattle, Memphis and Phoenix. Looking for greener grass on the other side of another fence. In 2016, Salt River PD placed Melvin on administrative leave.
According to Melvin, “They looked at it as disloyalty.” His leadership style was also mentioned as a reason for the split.
While working at Salt River, during his attempt be the top cop in Memphis, he told a reporter while on that ill-fated job search, “One of my best characteristics is the ability to assimilate into the community.”
He evidently didn’t do that very well in his last two jobs, and couldn’t do it in Seattle, Memphis or Phoenix.
In 2016, he got hired in Port Arthur, Texas. But that didn’t last long.
In 2018, two years after being hired, Melvin was forced to resign from his police chief job in Port Arthur. During his tenure in Port Arthur, the officers under his command took an overwhelming vote of no confidence in his leadership. The Port Arthur Police Association voted that they had “no confidence” in Melvin and his administration. The union said that “a significant void in leadership occurred as a direct result of Chief Melvin’s leadership style and philosophy.”
If Melvin hadn’t resigned, Interim City Manager Harvey Robinson told Texas media outlets he would have been terminated. The interim city manager was told that officers “have lost all trust, faith and confidence” in Melvin. The city had a dilemma – either face a forthcoming mass exodus of officers on the street or get rid of the root cause. “It’s evident now that Chief Melvin is seeking other employment opportunities,” Port Arthur Police Association President Greg Mouton wrote.
Guess who left?
Returning to Arizona in 2019, Melvin was hired by Democrat Sheriff Paul Penzone to work for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as a “court information management and release operations administrator.” That sounds like a basement administrative position make-work job to me.
In 2021, per the Arizona Supreme Court private process server directory, while working for MCSO, Melvin registered as a process server. The process server directory published by the Supreme Court showed his name as registered in Apache County – not in Maricopa nor Pinal County, which might have been flagged as a public record by the MCSO.
Why, Patrick?
In 2022, in a published account, Melvin announced he would run for constable in Maricopa while holding his job at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. He was characterized as wanting to be known as the “constable who cares.” But state law prohibits a constable being a process server at the same time.
Then, last year, Melvin said he wants to be sheriff of Pinal County, claiming to be the best candidate for the position. Not by the evidence I’ve seen.
Most recently this year, Melvin resigned from MCSO when it was found he declared his candidacy and violated MCSO policy against employees vying for elected office without permission from the sheriff. Penzone received a complaint regarding the policy violation and told him he could resign or pull out of the race.
Another job gone.
So, with a questionable employment history, having resigned from other top jobs under clouds, after brief tenures with Maricopa PD, Salt River PD, Port Arthur PD, then most recently MCSO, being a process server and announcing his running for constable at the same time, one could say this guy seems to be on the perpetual hunt for his next new job. Not a good leadership quality.
He claims to want to take the politics out of law enforcement. But in politics, he may have found his fix. You see, the Sheriff is an elected position. If elected, he can’t be fired – he must be recalled.
To a guy with a questionable employment history, being elected to office he’s not qualified for may just be about job security. At least for the next four years.
Let’s make sure this guy stays unemployed.
Barry R. Goldman, The Villages at Rancho El Dorado
This post Goldman on Melvin: ‘Let’s make sure this guy stays unemployed’ appeared first on InMaricopa.