Columbus city officials report that only three of the four police chief finalists plan to be at the Columbus Municipal Complex on Thursday afternoon ready to state their cases for employment.
Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong said the interviews will begin at 4 p.m.
“They’ve got the travel arrangements, but we’re trying to coordinate everything,” he said.
Cable One will televise the event live, which is a provision the Columbus-Lowndes Political Action Committee made when providing up to $3,000 to pay for the candidates’ travel expenses. Armstrong said the city budgeted for $1,000 per out-of-town finalist.
The out-of-town candidates are Curtis Brame of North Chicago, Ill. and Robert Spinks of Sequim, Wash.
Nathaniel Clark of Albany, Ga., who also was being considered for the post, has withdrawn from the race.
The only local finalist is Interim Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen.
“Brame and Spinks are flying in,” Armstrong said. “Ironically, Brame’s ticket was more than Spinks’ ticket.”
Mayor Robert Smith previously said the interviews will take place one at a time; each interview will last 45 to 60 minutes.
Armstrong said council members will ask the questions, which include inquiries from a citizen subcommittee’s reports, questions asked in the 2007 interviews that netted former Chief Joseph St. John and a few new questions.
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