Mayor John Marchione has announced that the City of Redmond is considering two candidates for the position of its new police chief: Bill Gardner and Ron Gibson, both of Colorado.

When Redmond’s longtime Chief Steve Harris retired in early 2009, Marchione appointed Redmond Fire Chief Tim Fuller as the interim chief to lead the effort to identify the attributes the community wanted in their next police chief. This process, completed in the fall of 2009, led the city to conduct a national search. From the 42 original applications, two were chosen for the final round of interviews.

Bill Gardner is an accomplished law enforcement professional with 33 years of experience. He has worked for various agencies in Colorado, most recently as police chief of Grand Junction. Gardner is a veteran incident commander holding degrees in organizational management and public administration and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Gardner is also a management and leadership instructor for the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police and an adjunct professor for the University of Colorado and Mesa State College.

Ron Gibson is an experienced leader in law enforcement with a long and varied tenure with the City of Colorado Springs. Joining the department in 1979, he now oversees the Patrol Operations Bureau as a deputy chief.

Gibson is active in the community and served on the board of a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting women and children from domestic violence. He recently published an article in Police Chief magazine, holds degrees in sociology and criminal justice and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Center for Creative Leadership.

“I’m very pleased with the steps we’ve taken to find a new police chief for Redmond,” stated Marchione. “We listened to the community, police officers and other city staff and developed a job description meeting their stated goals. We looked for a proven leader with experience in commanding a public safety agency with a community-oriented emphasis. We want our new chief to have a strong commitment to collaboration and a history of building cohesive teams that are in sync with our community.”

Gardner and Gibson will be in Redmond next week for a series of interviews and meetings with city officials and police department staff.

The city hopes to have the new chief in place by mid-June, according to Marchione.