Ramsey County Sheriff-elect Bob Fletcher picks leadership team

Ramsey County Sheriff-elect Bob Fletcher announced his leadership team Wednesday morning, poaching a high-ranking officer from St. Paul police and tapping one of its former chiefs for top spots.

One of Fletcher's most notable grabs is the recruitment of St. Paul police Senior Cmdr. Tina McNamara, the hard-charging leader of the department's homicide and robbery unit who was a finalist for the police chief post in 2016.

McNamara, who has worked at the St. Paul Police Department for nearly 26 years, will serve as undersheriff for court and security services.

"I'm excited to have this opportunity to work with Sheriff Fletcher and everyone in Ramsey County," McNamara said. "My time with St. Paul police has been incredibly rewarding, so leaving is bittersweet."

Fletcher said he picked McNamara because of her work with youth and her management style.

"She's passionate about helping kids get back on the right path," he said.

Fletcher also named former St. Paul Police Chief William Finney as his undersheriff for community relations. Finney retired from the St. Paul police in 2004 after nearly 34 years. He served as chief his last 12 years.

Finney ran against Fletcher's re-election bid in 2006 and lost by a narrow margin.

Finney said his goals are to improve relationships with communities of color and recruit more women and people of color into the sheriff's ranks.

An expected pick was Mike Martin, assistant director of emergency management for the University of Minnesota. Martin had announced plans to run for sheriff, then backtracked when Fletcher formally announced his intentions to challenge Sheriff Jack Serier.

Martin, who was a Minneapolis police officer for 23 years, will serve as undersheriff for regional services.

"My highest priority is making sure that what we do in regional services is supporting the other law enforcement agencies in Ramsey County," Martin said.

Fletcher's other picks: Dave Metusalem, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officer Association and a former Ramsey County undersheriff, will serve as Fletcher's chief deputy; current sheriff's commander Jeff Ramacher will serve as undersheriff for public safety services; and Roy Magnuson, a teacher and coach with St. Paul Public Schools, will serve as Fletcher's spokesman.

Fletcher said he assembled a team with the broadest experience for the top jobs, and would make more appointments in the near future.

Fletcher, who started his long law enforcement career as a St. Paul police officer, won election in November to the sheriff's post, beating out Serier, his only opponent. Fletcher was first elected to the post in 1994 and held the office for 16 years until losing re-election in 2010 to Matt Bostrom.

His return to the sheriff's office was preceded by months of criticisms of Serier, who was appointed to the job in 2017 by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners after Bostrom retired early.

Fletcher earned about 53 percent of the vote compared with Serier's 47 percent.

Fletcher most recently served as mayor of Vadnais Heights. He will take over the sheriff's office in January.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib