Attorney Loretta Sheehan was elected chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday and said immediately afterward that she intends to make the high-profile panel more proactive and transparent.

Sheehan replaces retired hotel executive Max Sword, who saw the commission through the controversial departure of retired Chief Louis Kealoha, the search for his replacement and the hiring of new Chief Susan Ballard in the fall.

Retired Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Steven Levinson was elected vice chairman.

All commissioners serve on a voluntary basis and all six who voted Wednesday are appointees of Mayor Kirk Caldwell, although Sword was first appointed by former Mayor Mufi Hannemann and then reappointed twice by ex-Mayor Peter Carlisle and then Caldwell.

Sheehan said she wants each of the seven commissioners to be able take leadership of areas that are their respective strengths. “My thought is that in order to operate effectively, each commissioner would essentially act as a subcommittee of one,” she said. Each commissioner could then do research on issues before the board and then report back to colleagues, she said.

She noted that Sword is a strong lobbyist, Jerry Gibson an expert in the visitor industry and Dick Grimm spent many years in the local media industry.

Along the same lines, Sheehan said she wants to break away from the tradition of having only the chairman speak to the media and encouraged more debate. “We are allowed to disagree,” Sheehan said. “We are allowed to have differences of opinion because what binds all in this room is that we want the best police department in the country, and want to provide it with the resources and support and the guidance — and the criticism if need be — to keep it that way.”

Sheehan also wants commissioners to engage more with the City Council, the state Legislature and the police commissioners on the other islands. “It seems that we should have a voice independent of the Police Department,” she said.

Inquisitive style

A onetime city prosecutor, Sheehan’s no-nonsense and sharply inquisitive style stands in stark contrast to that of Sword, whose laid-back and nonconfrontational personality came under fire as the commission wrestled with how to respond to a widening federal investigation centered on Kealoha that eventually led to his indictment in late October.

When Sword, along with city Corporation Counsel Donna Leong, recommended that Kealoha be paid $250,000 when he retired in early 2017, Sheehan was the commissioner who voted “no” and instead wanted to begin a for-cause action seeking his ouster.

At Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s June 2016 news conference announcing Sheehan’s appointment and Sword’s reappointment, Sheehan raised eyebrows when she criticized the existing commission for not asking harder questions of the Kealoha investigation. Caldwell called Sheehan “a breath of fresh air.”

The elections of both Sheehan and Levinson were unanimous, but there was some disagreement.

Sword asked that the vote on a chairman be delayed until the commission’s meeting in two weeks, arguing that incoming commissioner Shannon Alivado should have a vote. “Over the last year, we’ve talked about being inclusive, we’ve talked about being transparent and all that good stuff that goes along with it,” he said. “So why are we not including the seventh member?”

Colleagues, however, rejected his request.

“I think we can’t afford to delay what ought to have happened three months ago any more,” Levinson said, alluding to the fact that the commission historically has selected new leaders the previous December. “The odds are substantial that there will be a definitive result today.”

Commissioner Karen Chang said there needed to be a change in the board’s direction and that it should not be delayed. “We need to figure out a way to get out of the Kealoha umbrella,” she said. “I think it’s really important from an optics point of view, as well as real substance, we need to change.”

Praise for Sword

When Gibson nominated Sword for reappointment, Sword cut off discussion before the motion received a second and announced that he did not want to continue as chairman.

Recently retired from his role as vice president and chief lobbyist for Outrigger Enterprises, Sword said he intends to do more traveling after putting off trips in the last year because of his chairman’s duties.

Sword said he did not seek the chairman’s post when he was asked by colleagues to take it in December 2016.

Several colleagues thanked and complimented Sword for his leadership, including his successor. “You handled the entire year with a great deal of grace,” Sheehan said. “I know you occasionally took some hits in the media and they were largely unfair. You gave of your time and your abilities, and people don’t realize how hard you worked.”

The commission was criticized for approving the $250,000 payment to Kealoha when he retired, a move Sword said was necessary for the department and the island to move forward. As part of the settlement, Kealoha will be required to repay the money if he is convicted of a felony.

Under Sword’s leadership, the commission also was chastised by Council members and others through the spring and summer for being slow in selecting a new chief.

Sword recommended to his colleagues that TV personality Beth Chapman, who owns a bail bonds company with husband Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman, be appointed to a citizen search advisory committee. Plans for the panel were scrapped amid the furor.

In October, Sword recused himself from the chief selection process after the city Ethics Commission determined he had a conflict of interest for failing to make public immediately that Thomas Aiu, one of seven finalists for chief, is first cousin to Sword’s wife, Mona Wood-Sword.