Mayor, Council member at odds over timetable for moving District 5 police headquarters

Mayor John Cranley balked at demands by the FOP and City Council member Charlie Winburn to immediately shut down District 5 police headquarters Tuesday. Winburn demanded that the mayor and city manager close the Ludlow Avenue operation within 72 hours. Cranley responded that it would take roughly 62 days. With Election Day two weeks away, Winburn stepped up the pressure by vowing to take out radio ads and threatening everything from legal action to an overnight at City Hall until it closes. To wait would be to “further jeopardize the lives of these police officers,” Winburn said. “I plan to start tomorrow my radio ads against Mayor John Cranley, against the city manager and against the city council until they close this place down,” Winburn told WCPO. Cranley, facing a tough election challenge from council member Yvette Simpson, says he's pushing for a Christmas exit. That’s in line with Chief Eliot Isaac’s timetable, which called for everyone to be out by the end of the year. “I appreciate (Winburn’s) concern that I share for these officers, which is why we're getting the folks who work there day-to-day out and we've promised to get everybody out by Christmas,” Cranley told WCPO.