I haven’t met Carl Leoni, but 33 years in law enforcement should endow him with something that above all else might foster success at his new job: A thick skin.

Leoni retired from the DeKalb Police Department in February to become the city’s first crime-free housing and inspections coordinator. The DeKalb City Council created this position in October as part of a plan to implement new housing rules intended to make rental housing safer and better.

So as he begins his new job, the Daily Chronicle on Feb. 13 appropriately published a relatively upbeat news/feature story about this transition.