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Boardman officials to interview three remaining police chief candidates
BOARDMAN
Township officials today will begin second-round interviews with the remaining candidates for police chief.
The candidates are: Youngstown Police Capt. Rod J. Foley; township police Sgt. Glen Riddle; and Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Todd Werth. They were selected from a pool of 11 applicants.
In a series of special meetings scheduled for 5 p.m. today, Tuesday and Wednesday, each applicant will be asked to deliver a 30-minute presentation outlining his short- and long-term goals for the police department and identifying what he sees as the department’s challenges. They will then answer several questions from township officials.
“One of the things we’ll be asking a lot about is community-oriented police services,” said Trustee Tom Costello.
Township officials have said they are looking for a candidate who emulates Police Chief Jack Nichols’ accessibility with the public. Nichols is retiring in January.
THE CANDIDATES
Foley noted in his application that he has worked for five police departments in his 27-year career in law enforcement.
For the Youngstown Police Department, Foley served at different times as police chief, commander of the detective division, patrol division, internal affairs, the vice and narcotics unit and the community police unit. He also worked as a public information officer. Currently, he serves as commander of the patrol division. He also works part time as a Youngstown State University police officer.
“I believe my unique background of administrative experience, supervisory exposure, patrol proficiency and investigative strengths, which have been developed through years of perseverance and hard work, will enable me to lead the Boardman Police Department and its citizens well into the future,” he wrote in a cover letter.
Riddle has worked in law enforcement for 24 years, beginning with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and joining BPD in 1996. Riddle also owns a small firearms manufacturing business in North Lima. Riddle is assigned full time to the U.S. Marshals Service Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, for which he is second-in-command for the task force’s Youngstown division.
“I am as proud of our community as I am in the steps I have taken to develop my qualifications for this position,” Riddle wrote. “A review of my resume will reflect dedication, stable decision making at both a local and federal level, and an ability to engage the community, media and partnering agencies and systems for the betterment of Boardman.”
Werth is an Army veteran. He joined the FBI in 1997 and has worked as a special agent, a training coordinator for the Cleveland field office. He serves as supervisory senior resident agent for the Youngstown office, which oversees operations in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
“During my 19 years in the FBI, I’ve established a close working relationship with numerous individuals in our community in both the public and private sector,” he wrote. “Even though working for the federal government, I’ve established myself both personally and professionally as a member of the local community. I believe that bringing in an outside perspective while still being intimately familiar with the area and the dynamics of the community will serve the department and township well.”
NEXT STEPS
Township officials are not sure yet whether further interviews will be necessary after this week’s round concludes.
“We’re just trying to get a comfort level with the three candidates to see who will be best able to lead our department upon Jack’s retirement,” said Costello. “We’re looking for one of them to do something where all three of us [trustees] look at each other at the end of the interview and say, ‘This is the person.’”