Critics say he's an abrasive, careless time bomb with an XXL ego.

Supporters say "Dr. Kal'' is courageous, candid and will challenge anyone to fight for the truth.

They are talking about the guy hired to lead Cincinnati through the minefield of race relations: Alan Kalmanoff, a lawyer from Berkeley, Calif., picked by federal Judge Susan Dlott to monitor the racial profiling settlement.

So which Kalmanoff did we get?

Kalmanoff

A reporter and an editor at the Kalamazoo Gazette steered me to Kalamazoo County Commissioner Peter Battani, who they recommended as an objective source - a strong supporter who became a critic of Mr. Kalmanoff.

Over the top

"He went well beyond his objective role and ceased being constructive and became destructive,'' said Mr. Battani, who would "absolutely'' like to retract a letter of recommendation he wrote for Mr. Kalmanoff.

He said Mr. Kalmanoff did not have a good grasp of local laws and rules - and attacked officials personally when they pointed out mistakes or refused to adopt all of the recommendations in his $250,000 consulting report on the county justice system.

"It was a waste of money,'' Mr. Battani said.

After I described the job in Cincinnati, Mr. Battani said: "I would be very, very concerned about him in that role. Very, very concerned.''

But Mary Powers, who was a county commissioner at the time, said she stands by Mr. Kalmanoff. "People who were all for him in the beginning were not so happy when he started his work,'' she said. "He did not give the people on that committee the answers that they wanted right away.''

He was the best

Former County Commissioner Judy Todd Johnson agreed. "He proved to be the best,'' she said. "We tend to be way too polite in Kalamazoo. He forced us to confront our problems.''

Mr. Kalmanoff declined to return calls or be interviewed when I explained the criticism in Kalamazoo. He sent me letters of recommendation instead - including the letter Mr. Battani wants to take back.

I hope Cincinnati got the right guy. But Judge Dlott's office would not confirm nor deny that his references had been checked out.

The portrait that emerged from conversations with journalists and county officials showed a dedicated "agitator'' for change who was not impartial - and even came back to undermine the county's jail-tax election after his contract was canceled. Cincinnati got a preview Tuesday, when his evasive answers about rising costs and expanding deadlines left council members frustrated, worried and uncomfortable.

"Sometimes you need someone who incites controversy to get to the truth,'' Mrs. Powers said.

But Cincinnati has a surplus of inciters. We are controversied to death. What we need is an impartial, coolheaded referee who is fair to everyone - police and protesters.

Mr. Battani warned, "It would be real easy for someone to play the wrong cards in a destructive way.''

You're telling us.

E-mail pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.