Long-Term 'Temp'

LONG-TERM 'TEMP'

Interim chief put his life on hold

While attention has understandably been focused on the city’s now more than year long - and so far unsuccessful -effort to hire a new police chief, it would be a mistake to forget about the man who’s been dutifully filling that slot.

Interim Chief Walt Lunsford’s service has extended well beyond what he expected some 14 months ago when city officials asked him to come out of retirement.

Indeed, when the retired deputy chief first talked to the city administrator about the temporary assignment, the question of future conflicts or commitments was discussed. However, they dismissed the possibility that Lunsford’s long-planned month in Hawaii - then more than a year away - would present a problem. A new chief would, surely, be selected and at work by then.

Uh-uh.

When February 2001 rolled around, Lunsford was still in charge and the search was beginning anew.

His solution? In the middle of what should have been 30-day trip, he came back to Ann Arbor, spent 12 days working on budget questions and then rejoined his wife, Nancy, in Hawaii.

Pretty conscientious for a temp worker... a temp who had no reason to expect he’d be putting his life on hold indefinitely.

Assuming Lunsford’s encore does eventually come to an end, it’s going to be hard for the city to ever thank him enough. Maybe we should start now.