Miami Beach City Manager Jorge Gonzalez invited SAVE Dade Executive Director CJ Ortuño to help narrow the field in selecting the city’s new Chief of Police. Earlier this week, Ortuño spent one hour with each of the 11 candidates over the course of two days, asking over a dozen questions of each.

“It is significant for the community,” said Ortuño. “The Miami Beach Police interact every day with those who are LGBT. City Manager Gonzalez recognizes that the community be treated in its interactions with police with a level of sensitivity and it’s important that questions about the LGBT community be asked.”

There are plenty of ethics and image concerns, with previous issues between the two, but SAVE Dade’s Executive Director was very pleased with the responses of the applicants for the position. “You almost expect to hear bias, but every single one of the applicants responded overwhelmingly positively. I am confident that the City of Miami Beach will be in good hands.”