Less than two weeks after Robert W. Clark announced he would be resigning, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther has announced the appointment of the city’s first woman public safety director to replace him.
Kate McSweeney-Pishotti, who has spent three-and-a-half years as Ginther’s deputy chief of staff, was named Monday as the next director of the city Department of Public Safety.
“I am honored and humbled by this incredible opportunity to lead the Department of Public Safety,” McSweeney-Pishotti said in a prepared statement. “It is an immense responsibility, but one I am prepared to accept. I am eager to continue the great work we’ve started, to support the women and men who keep our city safe, and to continue to advance change and reform our residents expect.”
McSweeney-Pishotti will replace Clark, who was appointed in September 2021 to the safety director position.
Clark announced on April 4 that he would be leaving the city for a job in Philadelphia later this month. Clark, a former longtime assistant special agent-in-charge at the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, left the office after his last day on Saturday to become vice president of public safety at the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
McSweeney-Pishotti will oversee more than 3,700 uniformed and civilian employees in both the city fire and police divisions with an annual budget exceeding $700 million.
Ginther said in a media release that she will also work closely the newly formed Office of Violence Prevention on non-law enforcement anti-violence strategies in Columbus.
In her previous position as Ginther’s deputy chief of staff since December 2019, McSweeney-Pishotti acted as the liaison to the safety department, working closely with police and fire personnel, according to the media release. In that position, McSweeney-Pishotti also was part of the effort to implement the city’s first Civilian Police Review Board, which investigates complaints about alleged police misconduct, as well as the establishment of the Office of the Inspector General to investigate those complaints and report to the review board.
Prior to that position, McSweeney-Pishotti spent three years as the deputy director of public safety after 18 years as an aide in the legislative research office serving Columbus City Council. She’s also worked as a probation officer and as a bailiff in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
McSweeney-Pishotti has a master’s degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton.
“Kate brings a wealth of experience gained over more than three decades of public service in criminal justice, neighborhood safety and public policy,” Ginther said in a written statement. “The relationships she’s forged with community stakeholders and with Columbus Police and Fire, combined with her deep commitment to the residents of Columbus, will ensure her success.”