Submitted by Fox First at Ten on July 25th
SPOKANE, Wash. - The three finalists for the job of Spokane police chief are in town for interviews today, including one open to the public. The three are officers in management positions from other cities: Daniel J. Mahoney from San Francisco, George Markert from Rochester, N.Y., and Frank Straub from Indianapolis. A fourth candidate, retired Stockton, Calif., Chief Blair Ulring, withdrew after questions were raised about academic credentials on his resume. The new chief will replace Anne Kirkpatrick who left the Spokane job at the beginning of the year.
The finalists were determined through two initial screening rounds. The Mayor's Advisory Board on Policing completed a review and ranking of all applications, and several City senior managers then completed phone interviews with seven top candidates.
1. Government executives and elected leaders.
2. Current and retired law enforcement professionals.
3. Community and business leaders.
4. Members of the Public Safety Committee from the Mayor's Transition Team.
5. Police Advisory Committee (PAC) members & citizens.
Citizens will be able to attend the interviews conducted by the PAC in the City Council Chambers in the lower level of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. These interviews also will be shown live on CityCable 5 and streamed on the City's web site at www.spokanecity.org. CityCable 5 is the City's government-access cable station and is found on channel 5 on the Comcast cable system in Spokane.
These interviews will be 50 minutes long and are scheduled on July 25 as follows:
11:10 a.m. with Daniel Mahoney.
1:15 p.m. with George Markert.
2:20 p.m. with Frank Straub.
Additionally, citizens can attend a meet and greet reception with the Chief candidates in the Chase Gallery in the lower level of City Hall from 4:30 to 6 p.m. also on July 25.
Citizens can provide their feedback on the candidates at the interviews in City Hall or by sending an email to policechiefsearch@spokanecity.org.
The Mayor has said that he is looking for a new Chief with:
1. A solid understanding of metro policing models.
2. Experience in implementing cutting-edge policing techniques and approaches.
3. The ability to be comfortable in the public eye.
4. A desire to integrate him or herself into the Spokane community.
