By Charlie Bermant
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — Sgt. Ed Green, the longest-serving member of the current 15 members of the Port Townsend Police Department, has been offered the position of police chief of Oak Harbor by the town’s mayor.
Green said Friday that he intends to accept it but had not yet returned the paperwork to Oak Harbor.
His hiring, filling a position formerly held by Rick Wallace, won’t be final until it is confirmed by the Oak Harbor City Council on Oct. 16.
“I’m really excited about this,” Green said.
Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley said Friday that he will put forward Green’s name as his choice for police chief Thursday and that proposed approval of Green’s confirmation and a contract recommending an annual salary of $101,292 will be items on the Oct. 16 agenda.
Green was one of three finalists for the position.
“When I sat down with candidates, it was an easy decision for me,” Dudley said.
“Ed Green cares about his officers. He truly cares about the community that he is in,” the mayor said, adding that Green said he is “willing to roll up his sleeves and work alongside his police officers.”
“My No. 1 goal is public safety. There’s not a doubt in my mind that the citizens of Oak Harbor are going to be safer with Ed Green as their police chief.”
Port Townsend Police Chief Conner Daily said that Green will be difficult to replace because of his institutional knowledge and “because Ed knows where we are at and how we got here.”
Green, 48, began working for the Port Townsend Police Department in 1993 after moving to the area from Los Angeles.
He has worked in law enforcement since 1986 in a variety of areas.
He was promoted to sergeant in 2006 and has worked as a backup for Daily since that time.
The Port Townsend police force now has 15 officers including three sergeants.
Daily said he expects to fill Green’s vacancy with an internal promotion.
Three members of the force qualify for the position, he said.
Daily said it was uncertain when he would be able to fill a patrol vacancy created by a promotion to sergeant.
“With the way the city’s budget is working out, it could be six months before this is resolved,” he said.
On Friday, City Manager David Timmons issued a memo eliminating 10 positions, and saying that: “I am directing that the open sergeant position at the police department occasioned by Sgt. Green leaving to become chief at Oak Harbor not be filled to realize savings there.”
Daily said he will begin training one of the sergeants to handle the departments’s administrative details, which is now Green’s purview.
“Ed’s been doing this a long time,” Daily said.
“He has a depth of knowledge and it will take some time to train someone to that level.”
Green’s strengths included his understanding of budgets and his ability to communicate with other government agencies, Daily said.
If approved by the council, Green’s last day in Port Townsend will be about Oct. 26, he said.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
