In an effort to select an acting chief of police, the City Council swore in Shiva Bidar-Sielaff to the Police and Fire Commission Tuesday night. Her appointment into the PFC was approved by a unanimous counsel vote.
Members from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People came to voice their support for Bidar-Sielaff.
Her Sept. 21 appointment by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz makes Bidar-Sielaff the fifth member of the PFC. Cieslewicz appointed her to speed up the nomination process for a police chief to replace former chief Richard Williams, who retired last April.
“People from the policy makers to the police department are really eager to move forward [with a nomination] because we’re in the middle of budget season,” Melanie Conklin, the mayor’s assistant, said.
PFC members, who also include Gretchen Lowe, John Talis, Michael Lawton and LaMarr Billups, are expected to take several weeks before a final decision is made.
The three candidates in consideration for chief by the PFC are Acting Chief Noble Wray, Capt. Cheri Maples and Sgt. Mike Koval.
“Noble Wray is doing great job as acting chief, but he does not want to make policy decisions that may or may not be his to make,” Conklin said. “Everyone is eager to have a chief that is in place to set policy.”
A swift nomination of a police chief will help the police department deal with upcoming budget issues, she added.
Before a decision can be made, Bidar-Sielaff must evaluate and interview each of the candidates. The other PFC members have already gone through this process.
Once she has completed these steps, the committee’s five members will vote.
Bidar-Sielaff grew up in Spain and obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the School of International Interpreters at the University of Hainaut in Belgium and a Master of Arts from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif. She speaks English, Spanish, French and Farsi and was named one of the 50 most influential people in Madison by Madison Magazine, according to a press release.
