After winning the backing of Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord, 13 members of the Flagler Beach police union and even city Library Director Melissa Parish, Lance Blanchette was named Flagler Beach’s new police chief today, four months after his predecessor and former boss, Matt Doughney, retired. Blanchette had been active chief since last year.
City Manager Dale Martin made the final decision after convening an independent panel of three senior law enforcement officers from different agencies, none in Flagler County. Martin formally announced the appointment to the Flagler Beach City Commission and the public at this evening’s commission meeting.
“It’ll be a good step moving forward and I look forward to working with him at this new level,” Martin said.
“Flagler Beach is where my heart is, and this is one of the most unique communities I’ve ever experienced,” Blanchette said in an interview. “I just love the vibe here in Flagler Beach. If I could take this vibe here and bottle it, I’d be one of the richest men on the planet.”
Addressing the commission after a brief standing ovation from the commissioners and mayor this evening, Blanchette said the occasion was 32 years in the making, thanked a number of people who made it possible, and concluded: “I thank you for your trust and for believing in me, something I do not take lightly. I still have five or six months of hard road ahead of me due to my treatments. So I asked for little patience, but I assure you, I will be 100 percent. I will make you proud, and I will let you will not let you down. Now, I got a lot of work to do.”
Doughney retired with a salary of $121,600 a year. Blanchette as a deputy chief was at $106,000 a year.
The appointment was not, in the end, a surprise despite the strength of the candidate pool. Martin had received 30 applicants, six of whom made the shortlist and four of whom were interviewed. (See: “Six Strong Finalists Emerge in Search for Next Flagler Beach Police Chief, 3 With Local Ties.”)
Doughney had worked with Blanchette for most of the two men’s careers at the Daytona Beach Police Department, where Blanchette rose to captain. He was a member of the SWAT team and a sniper team leader and was involved in recruiting, management, training and accreditation standards, among other responsibilities, before his retirement in 2018 after 24 years on the job. Doughney immediately hired him as his deputy chief.
“I was retired for four days and came to work here in Flagler Beach,” Blanchette said. He does not recommend as quick a transition. He suggests at least a week’s vacation between jobs. But it’s not really Blanchette’s style.
For months Blanchette has been successfully battling brain cancer–and not missing a day’s work doing it, whether through chemotherapy or radiation. Work has been like his therapy. He’s been open about his challenge. “I am currently under treatment for it and I should be back to100 percent in about six months,” he said.
He speaks candidly about the differences in style with Doughney: “He was always more of a negotiator and I was always more of the SWAT guy,” Blanchette said. “You could drop him among any group of people and he’d be some of their best friends. I’ve been trying to emulate that.” He’s been working on it, realizing the value of those skills. “I need that, I need to have that transparency, I need to be able to get into any group in our community and have a very positive outcome.”
To that end, he wants to increase community involvement, starting with a couple of ideas. He likes the city’s citizens academy (assuming it is revived: it has been dormant since the departure of its doyenne, Jane Mealy), but the academy devoted only an hour or two for the police department to explain what it did. He’s interested in developing an academy focused on law enforcement and public safety. Also, he wants to promote a readier availability to the public through regular open-door sit-downs at announced community venues or businesses (along the lines of the “Coffee with the City Manager” that Palm Coast City Manager Mike McGlothlin is hosting one Friday a month).
He’s already been implementing changes in the department as acting chief with personnel changes, moving shifts around, changing the approach to recruiting. The department has a $3.34 million budget, including the budget for its victim advocate, and 14 sworn officers on the job, with two vacancies to be filled.
“Mr. Blanchette distinguished himself throughout the interview process as a well-rounded, forward-thinking law enforcement leader with a strong commitment to community-oriented policing,” the independent panel concluded. “He demonstrated a clear understanding of the unique needs and expectations of a coastal community such as Flagler Beach, including
Balancing public safety with community engagement and tourism considerations.”
The panel consisted of Lt. Robbie Robinson of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, High Springs Police Department Chief Antoine Sheppard, and Jacksonville Beach Police Department Commander Tommy Crumley. Blanchette’s leadership style “reflects transparency, accountability, and collaboration—qualities the panel believes are essential for continued trust-building between the police department and the community,” the panel found.
He faced stiff competition in the hiring process, but he also benefited from incumbency and the support of local officials.
“Most notably, we have collaborated during multiple hurricane activations and throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency,” Lord, the emergency management director, wrote in his letter of recommendation. “During these operations, I observed his ability to lead his team while also supporting broader interagency efforts. He consistently sought solutions that balanced operational needs with community safety, and he maintained an open line of communication that facilitated coordination between Flagler Beach and Flagler County Emergency Management.”
Sheriff Staly recommended him without reserve. “I offer my highest and most enthusiastic recommendation for Deputy Chief Blanchette as I have seen his exceptional leadership qualities, unwavering integrity, and profound dedication to public service enhancing community relations during his eight-year tenure with Flagler Beach Police Department serving as a supportive leader in his role as Deputy Chief,” Staly wrote.
Perhaps the tipping points were those Melissa Parish, the library director, made: Blanchette has been on the job, doing the job, already. “The area in which his familiarity is likely most valuable, however, is in the day-to-day operations of our Police Force,” she wrote. “Not asking our Officers and PD Staff to endure the disruptions inherent in the introduction of a new regime would be a great benefit to ensuring the seamless transition from one Leader to the next. He’s already their Leader, as well as a Leader among our staff. In fact, I have personally sought him out for advice over the years, and trust him implicitly. He is exceptionally knowledgeable, kind and thoughtful in his communications.”
Leave a Reply