Today, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced the selection of Cameron McLay as the next Chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

McLay is a leadership development consultant for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, instructing in dispersed ethical leadership, and a former Captain of Police with the Madison, Wis., Police Department. He has 35 years of police experience, and is a specialist in organizational leadership and community policing.
“Cam McLay is exactly what Pittsburgh Police need in a leader — a person of integrity who believes in collaborating with city residents to reduce crime, and in building trust and sound judgement among his fellow officers,” Mayor Peduto said.

So, I wondered what, if anything was out there about this man, or Madison WI in terms of LGBTQ issues, and the very first entry in the Google results is a story of a few officers delivering cakes to waiting gay and lesbian couples after marriage became legal in Wisconsin. In and of itself, it may not say much about what the Pittsburgh LGBTQ community can expect from our new chief, but I do believe it fits well with the reasons McLay was selected.

A reporter asked me some months ago about how does the LGBTQ community feel as a whole about the police, and in reality, there is no single simple answer. Some believe the police treat LGBTQ persons just like everyone else. Others fear that there is discrimination and bias. In my opinion, the community needs a strong and trusting relationship with the police and a new chief that values partnerships with the community looks like a big step towards that direction.

The mayor’s process for selecting a new chief received some criticism, but in general, it was a solid process that engaged the community in a number of critical ways. I attended three of the six community forums and was quite impressed by the public turnout, the questions, as well as the process itself.

Cam McLay, welcome to Pittsburgh!