Doherty seen in lead for state police post

Talking politics

January 31, 2007 4:41:33 PM

Despite denials by the Carcieri administration, the widespread belief is that the governor sought the resignation of Colonel Steven Pare, the superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, and that former state police Major Brendan Doherty will be his successor.

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal told me last week that the search is expected to intensify after the delivery of the governor’s State of the State address on Tuesday and of his budget proposal on Wednesday. Asked whether the governor, or anyone in the administration, had asked Pare to resign, Neal said, “Not to my knowledge, no. I do not believe that’s the case at all.”

Still, it’s hard not to doubt the official line, particularly considering how Pare, 46, is leaving at a much younger age (and after a far shorter tenure) than his two predecessors, Edmund Culhane (who retired at 62) and the legendary Walter Stone (who hung up his spurs at 79).

The ProJo’s Amanda Milkovits captured some of this undercurrent in a January 13 story:

“Outside his office, there was a storm of questions, as people in the law enforcement community and elsewhere wondered why Pare would suddenly retire. The announcement had come with no fanfare from the governor’s office . . . yet chiefs, prosecutors and regular citizens reacted with shock and sadness.

“Pare deflected questions about whether politics or budget cuts were reasons behind his retirement. His relationship with Governor Carcieri was ‘excellent,’ Pare said. ‘The governor has allowed me to run this agency completely independently.’ ”

As Milkovits reported, Pare “said his reasons were simple. He’s 46. He reached the maximum retirement age for his pension in June 2005. He’s spent his entire adult life at the state police and now wants to know what else he can do. He’s a Rhode Island native and plans to stay . . . ‘People will make assumptions and speculate. That’s the nature of the industry,’ Pare said. ‘It was my decision [to resign].’ ”

Doherty, who had previously been tabbed by the governor to help oversee Beacon Mutual, is known to be a Carcieri favorite. Although Neal says the succession decision “has not been made,” Doherty is widely considered a lock to get the job as top cop.

Asked about the widespread view — which has spread at the State House and in law enforcement circles — that Pare was asked to resign, Neal says, “I could not explain the origin of that rumor. I can say that I hear many rumors on Smith Hill every day that turn out not to be correct.”

There seems little reason to doubt that the state police, who have a sterling reputation for integrity — no small thing in a place like Rhode Island — will remain in good hands, although some observers are troubled by how Pare was seemingly asked to cover for the governor’s story.

A version of this story was originally published January 26 at www.thephoenix.com/notfornothing .