SEQUIM — Residents, law enforcement officers and city officials got their first look at five finalists for Sequim’s next police chief during an open house Thursday.
City Manager Steve Burkett hopes to hire one of the candidates by Aug. 15.
Making that choice will be “a tough decision,” he said.
The five candidates mingled with about more than 30 people attending the open house in the Sequim City Council chambers.
The candidates are Sheri Crain, acting Sequim police chief; William “Bill” Dickinson, state investigations supervisor; Matthew “Matt” Kosec, a Port Townsend native and lieutenant with the Carrollton Police Department in Texas; Todd Muilenberg, a division-leading lieutenant with the Scottsdale Police Department in Arizona; Julius “Phil” Schenck, deputy police chief in Sunnyside, who has family roots in Sequim.
One of the candidates will replace former former Police Chief Bob Spinks, whose last day in the post he held for five years was July 2 after Burkett asked him to leave in March.
The pay range for the new chief will be between $80,000 to $106,000, depending on experience.
Among those meeting the candidates were Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher, Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict and other police officers from Port Angeles and Forks. Former Sequim Police Chief Byron Nelson came out of retirement in Sequim to attend the open house.
Burkett will interview each candidate today. They also will answer questions from a Sequim police staff panel and a group of city staffers. The two panels will report back to Burkett.
Burkett has said he seeks a person who will continue a small-town customer service approach to law enforcement, who can assure absolute integrity of the department, and who can continually improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of services to the community.
Crain said she is qualified, having been with the Sequim Department since 1991 when it had only about five or six officers. She was the department’s first detective.
“To see how far it’s come has been an absolute pleasure,” she said of the department today.
Crain said she can bring continuity to the job.
“Clearly, I know the issues.”
Crain said her strengths included working well with the staff and bringing focus to the department, as well as “promoting and delivering a good product.”
Crain has served as Sequim’s field training officer, patrol sergeant, administrative sergeant and lieutenant.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Washington and her community involvement includes Sequim Trails Board and Rotary Club.
Dickinson, with 39 years experience in the ciminal justice field, has the most experience of any of the candidates.
“So there’s a track record,” Dickinson said.
Citing the financial restraints most agencies face today, Dickinson said, “I’ve been around long enough to help shepherd police departments through tough budget times.”
Dickinson’s work experience ranges from the smallest of police departments to the state’s largest county sheriff’s office, where he spent 10 years as the contract chief of police to the cities of SeaTac and Burien.
Subsequently, he served for seven years as chief of police in Tigard, Ore, and now lives in Tacoma. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Seattle University.
Kosec, a Port Townsend native whose family was in the funeral home business there until it sold it in 2000, serves as a lieutenant with the Carrollton Police Department, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb.
Kosec is working toward a master’s degree in organizational leadership.
“I try to find out why problems in law enforcement exist,” he said, adding that he sees himself as a problem-solver.
Kosec obtained his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with summa cum laude honors from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.
His law enforcement career started at Carrollton, where he has served as police officer, field training officer and sergeant before being promoted to lieutenant.
He speaks and consults nationally on the use of community and government coalitions to address underage drinking.
Muilenberg has served in Scottsdale since he was hired as a patrol officer there in 1990.
He has been interested in law enforcement “since my early days of playing cops-and-robbers.”
Other also has worked as a field training officer, property crimes detective, gang and youth intervention detective, patrol sergeant, basic training sergeant and school resource sergeant.
As a lieutenant, he has held the position of watch commander, school resource unit commander and professional development division section commander.
“I am now responsible for the training unit,” which he said has about 270 employees.
He also has five years experience on the Special Weapons and Tactical Team as a negotiator.
Asked what he saw as his biggest strength, Muilenberg said, “Probably my team-building abilities.”
Sheriff Benedict said Muilenberg called him, asking him to inform Muilenberg about the county.
He was on the deans’s list when he graduated from State University of New York in Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in forensic science.
He served as a first lieutenant in the New York Army National Guard.
Schenck, assistant police chief in Sunnyside for the past 10 years, said he supports open, transparent government and believes in publishing arrest reports on the his department’s website.
“I would take Sequim law enforcement to the next level,” said Schenk, who cited his work in grant writing.
Citing his long stay in Sunnyside, Schenk said, “I like planting my roots and keeping my roots in a community.”
Schenk’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in military science with law and justice from Central Washington University, a master’s degree from City University, and graduation from the FBI National Academy at the University of Virginia.
During his 21-year career with the Sunnyside Police Department he has served as patrol officer, police detective, patrol sergeant and deputy chief.
He also volunteers on a number of community boards and has taught criminology and criminal law at Yakima Valley Community College. He served in the Washington Army National Guard.
________
Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
