SPOKANE, Wash. -

Spokane Mayor David Condon announced the top candidates for the police chief position Wednesday morning.

The finalists are:

• Daniel J. Mahoney, Commanding Officer of the Ingleside Police Station within the San Francisco Police Department. He oversees the daily police functions for the District of Ingleside, home to 123,000 residents.
  
• George E. Markert, Director of the Office of Public Integrity for the City of Rochester, N.Y., and previously the Executive Deputy Chief for the City of Rochester Police Department.
  
• Frank G. Straub, Director of Public Safety for the City of Indianapolis and former Commissioner of the City of White Plains, N.Y, Department of Public Safety.
  
• Blair Ulring, retired Police Chief of the City of Stockton, Calif. Ulring served in the Stockton Police Department for 28 years.
  
  

The finalists for the chief position will be in Spokane on Wednesday, July 25, for five interview panels, one of which will be open to the public. All of the panels will be broadcast on City Cable 5 and will be streamed online as well.

The five panels each candidate will participate in are:

• Government executives and elected leaders.
  
• Current and retired law enforcement professionals.
  
• Community and business leaders.
  
• Members of the Public Safety Committee from the Mayor’s Transition Team.
  
• Police Advisory Committee (PAC) members & citizens.
  

In addition to the five candidate panels, Spokane residents will be able to attend a reception for the candidates in the Chase Gallery at City Hall from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on July 25.

Mayor David Condon said previously that he wanted to hire someone from outside the police department and that acting chief Scott Stephens will not be considered for the position. By the time the application period closed last month, 13 people had applied for the position.

The next police chief will replace former Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who retired from the position last January.

Kirkpatrick served five years as police chief and was faced with numerous challenges during her tenure, including the fallout from the Otto Zehm death investigation and the trial of Karl Thompson, the former police officer who was convicted last year of using excessive force against Zehm in 2006.

The City of Spokane re-launched its search for a new chief of police on June 1; Mayor Condon has said that he wanted to name a new chief by August.

“Restoring public confidence in our Spokane Police Department remains my highest priority. I believe we now have a solid understanding of what our community wants in a new Chief, and we are in a good position to attract top talent to run our department,” Mayor Condon said during the announcement to re-launch the search for a new chief in early June.