Public Safety nominee lays out plan for Pittsburgh

Sheldon Williams, who has spent his life in service, primarily in Pittsburgh, said he is ready to lead the city’s public safety efforts with a vision focused on community engagement and real-time problem-solving.”I want real people in real time dealing with real problems,” Williams told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Marcie Cipriani on Friday.Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor said this week that he will nominate Williams to serve as public safety director.For Williams, running public safety for the city of Pittsburgh means stepping out into the community.”I’m endeavoring to be a tangible person. I will be on the streets. I’m just not a person who likes to sit behind desks,” he said.Williams’ career shows his dedication to service. After enlisting in the military at 17, he returned home to serve as a Pittsburgh paramedic, then a police officer, joining the SWAT team and serving as a detective, before becoming a pastor and a professor for emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.When discussing his vision for Pittsburgh, service and working with residents were recurring themes.”I would love to have 90 different task forces of combined groups who are trying to really problem-solve the issues in each neighborhood,” Williams said.Williams envisions these groups being run by those who live in each neighborhood with a direct line to him. He acknowledges that public safety cannot exist without the men and women who are boots on the ground, and he says making those positions desirable will be a priority, too.”In my role, I’m going to make sure that we provide opportunities in our departments that this is a career choice for people,” he said.Williams also discussed issues such as the city’s aging fleet and his plans to handle that.”Mayor-elect O’Connor is going to find other ways to be able to provide for that, for that fleet management,” said Williams. “He has said on the campaign trail about going to different, you know, organizations and asking for contributions that would help with that, but also to like, you know, are we really managing our fleet and maintaining our fleet in a way that that it’s appropriate so we don’t get to these crisis moments and maybe through some of the things working with the chiefs who know that better, people who know their equipment better, before we get to that end of life cycle and some of these things, can we be a little more proactive so it doesn’t get to a crisis moment.”Williams agrees that serving as public safety director can be a tough task, but he said he is ready to get to work.”My wife has a great word. She calls it ‘nervous-ited,’ and when she first said that, I was like…? But that’s exactly what you feel. I’m excited about it, and I’m semi-nervous, because it is a very daunting task as you describe. It’s a huge responsibility, so I want to match the moment,” Williams said.

PITTSBURGH —

Sheldon Williams, who has spent his life in service, primarily in Pittsburgh, said he is ready to lead the city’s public safety efforts with a vision focused on community engagement and real-time problem-solving.

“I want real people in real time dealing with real problems,” Williams told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Marcie Cipriani on Friday.

Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor said this week that he will nominate Williams to serve as public safety director.

For Williams, running public safety for the city of Pittsburgh means stepping out into the community.

“I’m endeavoring to be a tangible person. I will be on the streets. I’m just not a person who likes to sit behind desks,” he said.

Williams’ career shows his dedication to service. After enlisting in the military at 17, he returned home to serve as a Pittsburgh paramedic, then a police officer, joining the SWAT team and serving as a detective, before becoming a pastor and a professor for emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

When discussing his vision for Pittsburgh, service and working with residents were recurring themes.

“I would love to have 90 different task forces of combined groups who are trying to really problem-solve the issues in each neighborhood,” Williams said.

Williams envisions these groups being run by those who live in each neighborhood with a direct line to him. He acknowledges that public safety cannot exist without the men and women who are boots on the ground, and he says making those positions desirable will be a priority, too.

“In my role, I’m going to make sure that we provide opportunities in our departments that this is a career choice for people,” he said.

Williams also discussed issues such as the city’s aging fleet and his plans to handle that.

“Mayor-elect O’Connor is going to find other ways to be able to provide for that, for that fleet management,” said Williams. “He has said on the campaign trail about going to different, you know, organizations and asking for contributions that would help with that, but also to like, you know, are we really managing our fleet and maintaining our fleet in a way that that it’s appropriate so we don’t get to these crisis moments and maybe through some of the things working with the chiefs who know that better, people who know their equipment better, before we get to that end of life cycle and some of these things, can we be a little more proactive so it doesn’t get to a crisis moment.”

Williams agrees that serving as public safety director can be a tough task, but he said he is ready to get to work.

“My wife has a great word. She calls it ‘nervous-ited,’ and when she first said that, I was like…? But that’s exactly what you feel. I’m excited about it, and I’m semi-nervous, because it is a very daunting task as you describe. It’s a huge responsibility, so I want to match the moment,” Williams said.