A NEW ERA DAWNS
GUARD CHANGES IN CHESTER, AT DELCO COURTHOUSE:
CHESTER >> A new mayor of Chester took the oath of office Monday, bowing his head and fighting back tears of joy as he gripped his placard. Thaddeus Kirkland was inaugurated in the company of friends, family and loyal supporters.
“I don’t take this lightly,” Kirkland said. “I am so grateful for this team that has allowed me to be a part of it, because teamwork really does make the dream work.”
His inauguration Monday came as a great source of pride to the lifelong Chester resident, a 1973 graduate of Chester High School. He served as representative for 23 years in the 159th state Legislative District before claiming the Democratic nomination over incumbent Mayor John Linder last spring and defeating Republican Wendell Butler Jr., a former Chester mayor, in the general election.
Also re-elected to city council seats were Elizabeth Williams and Nafis Nichols, who aided Kirkland and the Democratic team in a sweep of the city’s elections.
Monday, Kirkland’s first order of business was to shake up the leadership in the Chester Police Department, a new leadership team with some familiar faces in the hopes of tackling crime in a significant way.
Reappointing Darren Alston, also the former police chief, to his position as police commissioner, Kirkland said the citizens of Chester will see something “different and unique happening in the city already.” Kirkland has long been a support of Alston, who had filed a defamation lawsuit in 2012 against Linder, former Commissioner Joe Bail and the city, alleging he was slandered after being demoted.
Likening the new appointees to a basketball team — Otis Blair as deputy commissioner, James Nolan as chief of police, and Capt. Steven Gretsky and Capt. Marilyn Lee as police majors, the latter being the first woman to hold such a position in Chester — Kirkland called the citizens of Chester the owners and himself the general manager before gesturing to Alston.
“He’s the coach, this is the team, make it work,” Kirkland said.
Introducing a new tier of leadership, Kirkland and council aimed to make the police department better able to connect with the community. From top to bottom: Police commissioner, deputy police commissioner, then the chief of police, majors, captains and sergeants.
“It puts a lot of the talent at the top, and there’s a strategic plan in place to discuss how to handle addressing the high crime rate here in Chester,” said Councilwoman Portia West.
“It’s a priority of the city to reduce crime and improve the quality of life,” said Nichols. “We attract economic development, we increase property value, and (fighting) crime is the driving force in improve our institutions and education sector.”
After his inauguration, Kirkland sat down with reporters and expounded upon his plan for a brighter Chester. In the initiative he refers to as the “Widener Experience,” Kirkland plans to continue the installation of lights and cameras in high-crime areas.
He also aims to adopt the broad usage of police body cameras to add to safety and accountability.
“We believe it both protects the citizens and the police officers,” Kirkland said. “We want the police officers to better engage, and to have a better relationship with the community.”
West and Nichols echoed Kirkland in their desire to make fighting crime the top priority of the new administration.
“A major concern to the Chester community and to all of us on council is crime,” West said. “People are not feeling comfortable or safe in their homes or walking on the street.”
When asked about the rate of crime in the Highland Gardens section of Chester, which for years has been a hotbed for drugs, gun violence and arson, bookended 2015 with murders on the 1400 block of Culhane Street, Kirkland called the crime that afflicts the neighborhood “terrible” and “horrific.”
“What happened in Highland Garden is tragic,” Kirkland said.
Citing a 1998 initiative to bring new development to Highland Gardens, which fizzled after homes on the façade had been built but the lion’s share of work left undone, Kirkland said the “whole Highland Gardens needs to look like the front part.”
“I’ve been back there a number of times and I told the people there, ‘We’re not going to forget you,’” Kirkland said. “To do something for Highland Gardens would be a major boon for this community.”
For the time being, Kirkland will stay on as state representative after rescinding his Dec. 8 letter of resignation, writing in a brief that he will continue house duties “until further notice.”
House Democratic spokesman Bill Patton said Kirkland will continue to accept his $85,000-a-year salary as a state representative, but will not accept payment as mayor until he vacates his legislative seat. The mayoral salary is $41,000.