53 seek to become Eugene's next top cop.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

They come from the East Coast, the West Coast, the deep South and the Rocky Mountains.

But none of the 53 people who have applied to become the next chief of police currently works at the Eugene Police Department.

In fact, only a couple are from Oregon, said Lauren Chouinard, the city's human resources and risk services director.

"It's not that odd," Chouinard said. "In years past, we always seemed to get police chiefs from outside the organization.

"Being a police chief in any town is a tough business," he said. "Being a police chief in this town, with the varied types of opinion and people's willingness to express their opinions and their willingness to get engaged and involved - it makes this a hard area to police."

Despite Eugene's reputation for strongly held divergent viewpoints and clashes between protesters and police, more people than expected sent the required paperwork between June 1 when the position was posted to its closing July 2.

The city was hoping to receive at least 30 applications for the position vacated Dec. 21, 2001, by Jim Hill, the only recent chief hired from within the department.

Investigations Capt. Thad Buchanan has served as interim chief since Hill's retirement. Buchanan, like the department's other captains, opted not to apply for the permanent position.

The surplus of applications will be gravy for City Manager Dennis Taylor, recruiter Bob Murray of Roseville, Calif., and Chouinard, who will spend the next few weeks narrowing the field to four to six candidates for face-to-face interviews expected to occur Aug. 21 and Aug. 22.

They'll be looking for someone who is a great negotiator, a peacekeeper, a community builder, someone who can win the respect and trust of officers within the department while still addressing community concerns and other external issues, Chouinard said.

It's a delicate balance, he said, but most applicants should be familiar with Eugene's political climate.

"People who think about this job will know it's not going to be a cake walk coming in here," he said. "Somebody might be thinking about stepping down from a larger operation to an easier environment. That would be the wrong thing to think about coming to Eugene."

The applicant pool includes current police chiefs and second-in-commands who want to try their hand at leading a department. Some work for larger departments and are looking to step up a rung.

Murray, whose firm, Bob Murray & Associates, has recruited about 75 police chiefs for departments across the nation, will speak to each applicant at length in the coming days and deliver 10 or 20 viable candidates to the city.

The city will then select a smaller group for the August in-person interviews.

The public will get a chance to participate in the final selection process, most likely through a public meeting or a presentation by the candidate, Chouinard said.

The city will also work with police department staff and the police employees union. Ideally, the new chief will begin work in mid- to late-October, he said.