Popular Scottsdale, Ariz., Fire Chief William L. "Willie" McDonald faces many challenges as new fire chief in San Jose, Calif. McDonald, 52, who in 2004 developed Scottsdale's first municipal fire department, will start August 2 and will receive a salary of $211,000 a year to oversee a 700-person department in San Jose. McDonald succeeds Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld, a San Jose department veteran who is retiring after 33 years. City officials began the search for a new chief in December when Von Raesfeld announced his retirement, with an outreach process that attracted 32 candidates from across the country.

"This honor to me is the pinnacle of my career," said McDonald.

The popular Scottsdale fire chief will face shrinking budgets and bitter union battles in San Jose. In fact, his predecessor, Von Raesfeld, endured a rocky relationship with the San Jose firefighters union. Just months after he was named to the post, the union voted no-confidence in his leadership. Several issues drove tensions including shrinking budgets and the need to reduce soaring wage and benefit costs for firefighters while maintaining service with a thinly staffed department. In addition, a sexual harassment crackdown followed a female firefighters' lawsuit over fire station pornography that the city settled for $200,000 last year. The union has been criticized as well, most recently in a 2009 civil grand jury report that accused union leaders of being needlessly hostile with city management.

McDonald said he is aware of the tensions but sees the job as a challenge.

"I knew that, and I wanted the job," McDonald said. "It's an opportunity to make a difference. The union has been very open for conversations with me. So I'll be working on making that a priority from the beginning."

McDonald, who is African-American, started his career in 1978 in Fresno where he grew up, and also worked in Foster City, San Mateo and Fremont. Six years ago he went to Scottsdale, where he led the city of 226,000 through a transition from a privately contracted fire service to a municipal fire department. He has a master's in business administration from Cal State Hayward and a bachelor's in biology from Fresno State.

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