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Akron council considers and forwards appointments to Citizens Police Oversight Board
Summary
City council committees read nominations and advanced several candidates to the full council for confirmation to Akron's Citizens Police Oversight Board; nominees included current board members and community candidates with law-enforcement and civic backgrounds.
The rules and public safety committees read and advanced multiple appointments to the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board, sending each nomination to the full council for final confirmation this evening.
The committee process provided each nominee an opportunity to speak to the committee and to answer questions about qualifications and potential conflicts of interest. Councilors emphasized onboarding continuity for existing members and experience-based diversity for new members.
Donzella (appeared on the record as "Donzella") spoke by videoconference after being nominated for reappointment and described her goals for the next term: building board credibility and pursuing charter amendments to clarify the board's role. "We've had some trials and tribulations, but we've also had some triumphs," she said, and added that she would seek "input from everyone from the city, from the police department, the community, stakeholders within the community" when proposing changes.
Dr. Juanita Elton, introduced for appointment, emphasized cooperative oversight. Elton noted her 17'plus years of police service and said the board should "hold the police accountable, but we should not have animus for the police." Members noted that Elton's law-enforcement experience and interview responses did not show conflicts of interest.
Christopher Weems and Duane Scribe (both present) spoke about relationship-building and community safety as core board priorities. Weems said he will work to "help my community" and to "build relationships" across neighborhoods. Scribe described outreach and violence-reduction work in Akron and said he would bring community connections to the board.
Council leaders explained their approach to staggered onboarding. Council President Somerville said council intentionally reappointed at least one experienced board member to provide historical knowledge while adding new members so the board would not be saddled with onboarding four new members at once.
All nominations were moved out of committee under suspension of the rules; the items will be on the council's agenda for confirmation votes tonight.
