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Letter

In Support of David Chipman

The Honorable Richard J Durbin
Chairman
US Senate Judiciary Committee
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Durbin,

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of residents throughout cities across America by stopping illegal guns from entering our communities, investigating the trafficking of illegal guns, and regulating the gun industry to root out bad actors. In 2020, we experienced historic levels of gun violence in our cities, surging gun sales, and an escalating crisis with the rise in popularity of illegal ghost guns. The ATF has had only one Senate-confirmed director since 2006, and he served from 2013 to 2015. At this moment, mayors need a strong leader at the ATF to work in tandem with us to curb gun violence in our cities. The undersigned mayors urge the Senate to confirm David Chipman as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

David Chipman is a dedicated law enforcement professional with over 30 years experience in public safety, including as a special agent with the ATF. As a father, public servant, gun owner, decorated law enforcement professional and gun safety expert, he has spent his career serving the public, combating violent crime, and striving to make our nation and our communities safer every day. 

Throughout his 25-year career at ATF, Chipman served as an investigative responder providing assistance to state and local authorities in the aftermath of significant bombings and arsons. As a Certified Explosives Specialist, he investigated some of the most serious incidents of terrorism of the decade, including the World Trade Center Bombing in 1993 and Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. In 1996, he also investigated a series of racially motivated arsons that destroyed a number of predominantly Black houses of worship in Boligee, Alabama, an investigation that ultimately brought the perpetrators to justice.

Chipman was promoted to multiple leadership positions at ATF, including Division Chief of the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs in 2012. In his supervisory roles, David managed hundreds of agents, partnered with dozens of communities and was responsible for the execution of ATF’s operational budget in all 25 field divisions and an annual budget in excess of $150 million. 

Chipman is uniquely qualified to lead the ATF, and he will be a committed leader for an agency that has primarily relied on interim directors for the past fifteen years. As mayors elected to ensure the safety of our residents, his confirmation will benefit our efforts to curb the rising rates of gun violence and continued trafficking of illegal guns. For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Senate to confirm David Chipman as the Director of the ATF. 

Sincerely,

Randall Woodfin
Mayor of Birmingham, AL

Sam Weaver
Mayor of Boulder, CO

Daniella Levine Cava
Mayor of Miami-Dade County, FL

Anthony S. Ford
Mayor of Stockbridge, GA

Brandon M. Scott
Mayor of Baltimore, MD

Chokwe A. Lumumba
Mayor of Jackson, MS

Steven Noble
Mayor of Kingston, NY

Peter Scherer
Mayor of Pleasantville, NY

TJ Cawley
Mayor of Morrisville, NC

Wade Kapszukiewicz
Mayor of Toledo, OH

David Burton
Mayor of Malvern, PA

Patsy Rhett
Mayor of Bowman, SC

Satya Rhodes-Conway
Mayor of Madison, WI

Pat Furey
Mayor of Torrance, CA

Rebecca Tooley
Mayor of Coconut Creek, FL

Rick Kriseman
Mayor of St. Petersburg, FL

Greg Fischer
Mayor of Louisville, KY

Patrick Wojahn
Mayor of College Park, MD

Nancy Kaboolian
Mayor of Ardsley, NY

Noam Bramson
Mayor of New Rochelle, NY

Steve Schewel
Mayor of Durham, NC

Jackie Sergent
Mayor of Oxford, NC

Dwan B. Walker
Mayor of Aliquippa, PA

James Kenney
Mayor of Philadelphia, PA

Stephen Benjamin
Mayor of Columbia, SC

Lindsey Horvath
Mayor of West Hollywood, CA

Dan Gelber
Mayor of Miami Beach, FL

Van Johnson
Mayor of Savannah, GA

David Narkewicz
Mayor of Northampton, MA

Jeffrey Salvin
Mayor of Somerset, MD

Nicola Armacost
Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Bruce Tucker
Mayor of Piermont, NY

Dontario Hardy
Mayor of Kinston, NC

Nan Whaley
Mayor of Dayton, OH

Sal Panto, Jr.
Mayor of Easton, PA

William Peduto
Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

Jim Strickland
Mayor of Memphis, TN

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