In Sanford, the face of authority is increasingly black

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Many in Sanford’s black community had long pushed for an African-American chief, with some fuming over a failed attempt to court a highly-decorated candidate, Michael Blow, who ultimately lost out to Lee, a local who black residents refer to as “Billy Lee,” replete, they say, with all the southern “good old boy” baggage.

Bonaparte said there was no deliberate attempt to pick a black chief. More important, he said, was finding someone with a fresh view, and the ability to reach out to disaffected members of the community.

“We went through a very competitive national search,” Bonaparte said, noting that two of the five finalists were African-American. Smith was chosen after recommendations from various community groups, the city commission, and a series of public sessions at which the candidates made presentations. “I don’t know that color was an issue there,” said Bonaparte.

A stranger in a southern town

“I have to say that up until November of last year when [the chief’s job] was publicized, I really had no idea that I was going to apply for the job,” Smith said, sitting in a small room just outside of the large conference room where the promotion ceremony would soon begin, complete with plaques and a cake, and a multi-racial cast of officers and staff.

He said a friend, who also works in law enforcement, encouraged him to apply. The friend “said hey, I think this might be something good for you. I think it might be a good opportunity for you to go in and use the skill set that you’ve had here in Elgin, and see if you can make some change. So I applied for the position.”

Elgin is Elgin, Illinois, where Smith was a deputy chief of police. He was born and raised in Chicago’s West Side, and before April, had never lived in the south. His wife, who hails from Colorado, arrived in Sanford in the wee hours that morning — ahead of the furniture for the family’s new home. “Significant days kind of set the tone for who you’re gonna be and where you’re gonna land,” he said.

Smith said his wife Vicky had some jitters, wondering how their interracial family will be received in a small, southern town. But he said his neighbors have been friendly, and he’s quickly settling in.

Smith said he researched Sanford before agreeing to take the job, and what he found was a difficult history, dating back even before it became known as the town that wouldn’t allow Jackie Robinson to play baseball in town with the Brooklyn Dodgers’ farm team back in the 1940s — but he also found some real changes for the city’s African-American community.

“Even before I took the position you had a black city manager who was here, who is trying to make a difference,” he said, referring to Bonaparte. “And you’ve had a black city commissioner who’s been here for years and years and years,” he added, referring to Velma Williams, the city’s lone black commissioner, who was among those pushing hard to hire an African-American chief.

Darren Scott served for a time as interim chief after Lee stepped down, though he did not apply for the permanent job.

Next: A glimpse the dark side