New police commission *

• Shelley Freeman is Regional President for Wells Fargo’s Los Angeles Metro Community Bank...She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Home for the Aging, the Los Angeles Center Theatre Group, Jewish Family Service, and ShareBuilder Corporation. She is also a member of the President’s Council at CHARO Community Development Corp. and serves on the Southwest Regional Board of Directors for Operation Hope...Ms. Freeman also is an honorary board member of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), and the Trevor Project, which serves at-risk gay and lesbian youth. Last year, she chaired 2004 AIDS Walk L.A.

• John W. Mack has served as President of the Los Angeles Urban League since August of 1969...Mack is a highly respected advocate for equal opportunities in education, law enforcement and economic empowerment for African-Americans and other minorities – and a bridge builder across all racial, cultural, economic, gender and religious lines. Mack was afforded the unique opportunity to serve as a teaching Fellow in Residence at the prestigious Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics from September through December, 1998.

• Andrea Sheridan Ordin is a partner in the law offices of Morgan Lewis and is a partner in the Litigation Practice of the Los Angeles office...Ms. Ordin served as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California from 1977-1981, supervising all criminal and civil litigation. Ms. Ordin was also Chief Assistant Attorney General of the State of California, in charge of environmental, consumer, antitrust, charitable trust and civil rights litigation from 1983 through 1990.

• Anthony Pacheco is currently in private practice with the internationally-recognized law firm of Proskauer Rose. His practice is focused on litigation and quasi-litigation matters, including white-collar criminal special investigations, investor and financial institution fraud, securities, accounting fraud, complex business, environmental and entertainment cases, and trial practice...Mr. Pacheco assisted in the World Trade Center insurance litigation pending in the Southern District of New York. He was responsible for depositions and strategic matters arising on the West Coast and in Australia, where entities associated with the litigation are located. The disputed amount is in excess of $7 billion. Subsequently, he specialized in litigation as a partner with Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Pacheco served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

• Alan J. Skobin was appointed to the Board of Police Commissioners by Mayor James K. Hahn in July of 2003. He previously served as Vice President of the Los Angeles City Board of Transportation Commissioners. Commissioner Skobin is Vice President and General Counsel of Galpin Motors, Inc., and has been in management with the Galpin organization since 1977. He has direct responsibility for, or is integrally involved with, a number of significant functions, including legal, information technology, risk management and insurance, real estate, investments and human resources...Commissioner Skobin has served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for more than twenty years, reaching the rank of Reserve Commander.

Here's what Bob Baker says, in an emailed message from the Police Protective League:

"We have confidence that the Mayor has found the best people for the job, and we look forward to working with them. I am pleased that Mr. Skobin has agreed to stay on the Commission. I personally have never met Ms. Ordin, Ms. Freeman or Mr. Pacheco, but trust the Mayor when he says that they are all men and women who love the City and want to help the Department meet its high expectations. Mr. Pacheco has a background both as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division and as a criminal defense attorney, which will give him a broad background in understanding the challenges facing the Department. Ms. Ordin, as a past member of the Christopher Commission, will bring unique insight into the Department and it will be helpful to have her perspective on how far we have come since the Christopher Commission issued its report, fourteen years ago, this month.

"Of course, John Mack has been a vociferous critic of the Police Department and our officers in the past. We are actually looking forward to having him on the Commission, because we trust that when he sees our issues from the inside and understands their complexity, he will be a powerful communicator for the LAPD and its role in the City. We are looking forward to having him visit the stations, come to roll calls and go on ride alongs. We are hoping that his commitment to understanding the issues facing minorities in the City will go a long way to helping the Department and the City work together to do the best job for all its residents.

We anticipate a productive working relationship with all of the members of Police Commission."