City is well served for police chief candidates

What happens when great people get together in a transparent and collaborative way? Great things happen.

With the retirement of Moses Lake Police Chief Dave Ruffin, the City of Moses Lake took a different approach Tuesday to finding his replacement. They opened their doors, invited a handful of key stakeholders, included key positions from many of the city’s departments and interviewed the final four candidates – across four interview panels – for the next MLPD chief.

One would assume a municipality with a recent allegations of non-transparency would keep this process very guarded, maybe including the governing council, but keeping the public at a distance until the final decision is made. Not Moses Lake and new city manager John Williams, who ultimately will make the final decision.

Having recently participated in the hiring process for the new Grant County EDC executive director, my expectations were – let’s just say I didn’t know what to expect. I thought there might be an early favorite. There wasn’t. I thought I would grow tiresome of hearing the same answers over a six-hour period. I didn’t. And I expected the candidates to all be very similar in age, experience, skills and abilities. They weren’t.

When you think of governmental transparency, the City of Moses Lake typically doesn’t come to mind. But Williams, and his dedicated team of public servants, are set to change that and create a different tone for the direction of Moses Lake. Last Tuesday they opened up the entire process to a school administrator, a newspaper publisher and an MLPD detective, in addition to numerous city positions. The process was truly a step forward.

Ultimately city manager John Williams will make the decision, but not without feedback from the community. The final four candidates, in order of how our panel interviewed them, are: current MLPD Capt. Dave Sands, a 24-year veteran of our local police department and one of the most well-liked and respected officers on the force. His energy was infectious – and not in a Dustin Hoffman Outbreak way.

Chris Anderson was next. He’s the current Department of Fish and Wildlife captain who’s spent over 40 years in enforcement and brings a depth of knowledge and connections throughout the state of Washington. Rathdrum Police Dept. Chief Kevin Fuhr followed. Fuhr has spent several decades in law enforcement in Adams County and is very well respected among his peers. Lastly, Mike Williams, a 21-year veteran with local ties and a probably one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. His degree in communications/journalism was also a bright spot for me.

Regardless of who is chosen as the next City of Moses Lake police chief, the city has new leadership on the ground and a super bright future. Any one of the four candidates would be a great addition to our progressive future.

Good luck, John Williams. We’re all counting on you.