Two finalists have been selected in Bayfield’s search for a new police chief following the retirement of Police Chief Michael Hoguet.
During the Dec. 16 town board meeting, Hoguet said he wanted to spend more time with his family but would remain in the role until May or until a new chief is hired.
At a March 3 town board meeting, Bayfield Town Manager John Waters said eight candidates applied for the position. He narrowed the field using a “matrix” that assigned points to each candidate based on education, experience and familiarity with the community.
Waters said he only reviews the score each candidate receives through the matrix, not their names.
“I don’t look at the names. I don’t want to look at the names,” Waters said during the meeting. “I want them to qualify themselves through the matrix.”
Waters said candidates scoring 80% or above in the matrix would be considered for an interview. He said four applicants qualified, with two having scores in the 90s, making them strong candidates.
Those two were Sean Dugan and Tony Hobbs, Waters said in a March 6 email to The Durango Herald.
“Both of these candidates exceed the criteria for education and experience,” Waters said. “Each has significant law enforcement experience which includes department leadership. Both also demonstrated knowledge of our department and an interest in our community.”
On March 11, Dugan had a meet-and-greet with residents at Bayfield Town Hall. Another meet-and-greet with Hobbs was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at Bayfield Town Hall.
The selection process has raised questions among some residents.
The previous search included the names of four police chief candidates, including their prior experience and education, based on meeting agendas from March 21, 2023 and March 30, 2023.
Since Michael Hoguet announced his retirement Dec. 16, similar candidate information has not appeared in town board agendas or online, aside from the meet-and-greet events for Dugan and Hobbs.
“If you look at the way that Mr. Hoguet was hired, that was completely different – it was an extremely transparent process where candidate information was widely available,” said Bayfield resident Kristin Dallison.
Lucy Stewart, who has lived in Bayfield since 1977, attended Dugan’s meet-and-greet. She said there has not been enough community buy-in or transparency in the hiring process.
“You have to have respect for the community if you have the job here, and have people to respect you and back you up,” Stewart said. “And I know a lot of people out in the community don’t feel that right now.”
A request for comment emailed to Waters on Friday regarding the hiring process and his scoring matrix did not receive a response as of Monday evening.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
