The City of Seattle’s on the search for a new Chief of Police. Led by the 26 member Seattle Police Search Committee, a citizen panel appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn, the national search begins with no front runners, inside-track candidates or preferences for or against candidates of any race, gender, ethnicity or place of origin.

The search committee consists of people from all walks of life, including neighborhood groups, minority communities, business and civic leaders, and police and justice-system representatives. The search began back in January with a series of meetings that includes three public hearings scheduled through May.

The next of these public hearings will be held on Wednesday, March 10, at 5:30 pm in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle’s City Hall. On the agenda: discuss and finalize assessment criteria and discuss candidate interview questions. Want to get involved? The meeting is open to all interested parties.

The next public meeting will be on Wednesday, April 21 in the same place. After a closed executive session, the public is invited to be on hand for a vote that will select between 5 – 7 candidates from the 10 – 15 profiles presented by the executive search firm responsible for locating qualified candidates.