SEQUIM — Police Chief Robert Spinks failed again to get chosen for a new job when West Richland Mayor Donna Noski picked a different finalist Monday for the job of police chief in the Eastern Washington city.
Last week, Spinks missed out on police chief positions he had applied for in Lebanon, Ore., and Pullman.
For those two posts, too, he made the final round but not the winner’s circle.
“We had six qualified candidates for this position” Noski said Tuesday, adding that she informed the City Council of her decision Monday night in a closed-door executive session.
She selected city of Ellensburg Police Sgt. Brian McElroy to the $77,820-$92,012-a-year chief’s position in the city of 10,500.
“I think he is a good fit for West Richland, and he has the qualities and characteristics I think are important for the position,” Noski said.
She would not comment on whether she knew of the circumstances surrounding Spinks’ impending departure from Sequim, where he earns about $86,000.
“He was a qualified candidate, and we were pleased he put his application in at West Richland.” Noski said.
Seven-month Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett, citing a lack of “chemistry” between himself and Spinks, has urged Spinks to find a new job by the end of May and will ask him to resign by Dec. 31 if he hasn’t found one by then, Burkett said in a previous interview.
Burkett has been city manager since October, and Spinks has been police chief for five years.
Spinks, who is attending a state Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs conference in Spokane this week, did not return calls for comment Tuesday or answer e-mailed questions, including if he has applied anywhere else.
Spinks’ job-search efforts — initially unknown to the City Council but known to Burkett — came to light in early May after Spinks was pictured in a photo in the Albany (Ore.) Democrat Herald as a finalist for the Lebanon job.
Spinks acknowledged to the PDN on May 5 that he had been “aggressively” seeking employment elsewhere, which is when the City Council found out about his plans.
On May 6, Spinks and Burkett issued a joint statement that Spinks would be leaving Sequim, and Burkett said in a subsequent interview that he hoped Spinks would find a new job by the end of May.
_________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.