• Leslie Wilber •
• Originally published July 11, 2008 at 11:13 p.m., updated July 11, 2008 at 11:13 p.m.

For half his life, Kevin Kelso has been a Victoria Police officer.

The 42-year-old captain came to the department after he graduated from Victoria College’s police academy in 1986. It was his first job.

In August, he’ll leave Victoria to lead the Seguin Police Department.

“All my career, I’ve been working toward being chief of police,” Kelso said.

He’ll head a department of 48 officers and 19 civilians, said Tammy Garcia, director of human resources. Kelso was chosen from a pool of 50 applicants, she said.

Lewis Collazo, Seguin’s last police chief, resigned March 31, she said. A city investigation showed Collazo called a female officer an “Amazon lesbian” and talked crudely about officers’ sexual orientation, a March 11 letter from Seguin city manager Doug Faseler said. The letter also accuses Collazo of telling a visitor another officer would steal anything left unattended because he’s Mexican. Collazo pressured officers into tossing out traffic tickets and other charges, the letter said. Garcia wouldn’t comment on the reasons Collazo left.

“I think the greatest challenge will be earning the trust of officers,” Kelso said.

Kelso told Chief Bruce Ure he was interested in applying for the job in Seguin about two months ago, Ure said.

“My guidance to him was make sure this is what you want, because you’re good enough that they’re going to pick you,” Ure said.

Leading another department was a natural step in Kelso’s career, he said. The indictment of Ure and Lt. Ralph Buentello didn’t influence his decision to leave.

“It wasn’t even a consideration,” Kelso said.

Kelso would have been content to stay in Victoria longer, he said, if it wasn’t for his leadership ambitions.

“I’m comfortable here,” Keslo said. “I know what to do here.”

Mentoring newer officers is what Kelso said his greatest accomplishment in Victoria has been.

Such mentorship will allow Victoria to promote several officers to fill empty spaces left by Kelso’s departure. Lt. Kevin Sanderson will become a captain; Sgt. Jason Cross will become a lieutenant, and officer Jason Mikeska will become a sergeant, Ure said.

“He has incredible leadership abilities balanced with good, old-fashioned common sense,” Ure said of Kelso.

Seguin is smaller than Victoria, with roughly 25,000 people, verses Victoria’s population of more than 60,000. Victoria is budgeted for 107 police officers, so the Seguin department is less than half the size.

Moving to the smaller town will bring Kelso, his wife and three daughters closer to his family in Gonzales and his wife’s in Austin. The job also comes with a pay raise – Kelso will make $92,310 annually. His salary in Victoria is $62,334.

Leslie Wilber is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6521 or e-mail her at lwilber@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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