PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- In the early 1990s, the Portland firefighters union went to federal court -- claiming discrimination against men -- because the city ignored seniority when scoring the test to become a lieutenant taken by a young firefighter named Erin Janssens.
On Tuesday, 20 years after taking that exam, Janssens was sworn in as Portland's 22nd fire chief, the first woman to hold the position. And, in a touch of irony, the man who picked her for the job, City Commissioner Randy Leonard, was union president at the time of the lawsuit.
Erin represented to me a role model, and not just for women, but for anybody who wants to be a firefighter, Leonard told the crowd at the ceremony in front of City Hall.
Janssens replaces John Klum, who turns 55 this week and is retiring after 34 years with the Portland Fire Bureau. Janssens began her career in 1988 and steadily rose through the ranks. She was appointed fire marshal in 2009, and Leonard said she did an outstanding job.
Janssens, 48, downplayed the significance of becoming the city's first female chief, saying the position is an honor regardless of gender. When pressed, however, she credited Title IX, the 40-year-old law enacted to provide girls with equal access to athletic opportunities. The new chief, who played softball in high school, said it encouraged girls to become more athletic, and prompted them to consider careers that have physical demands, such as fire service.
I never saw a glass ceiling in the fire bureau, she said. I came in 24 years ago and it was simply a matter of time, of experience and gaining the seniority needed to compete at each level.
Her lack of seniority was an issue in the controversy surrounding the test to become a lieutenant. According to a newspaper account from back then, the city cited affirmative-action laws when it ignored seniority, which typically accounted some points, and based Janssens' test score solely on oral and written results, placing her 16th on the promotion list instead of 28th. Leonard was quoted as saying it's unfair, not to mention illegal, to give people different standards.
Janssens said she and Leonard never discuss the matter that occurred so long ago. She said Leonard made it clear at the time that the issue was about city changes in developing the promotion list -- not her.
It was just the process, she said. It was never personal.
