Nearly a year after the last Honolulu police chief quit, the island’s police commissioners will finally get a look at the 41 applicants who have applied to be the department’s next leader. 

Gary Peterson, head of Public Sector Search & Consulting, which the commission hired to help with the search, will present the candidates to commissioners in a closed-door session on Monday.

The public won’t learn who the candidates are until commissioners whittle the group down to a small group of finalists.

Peterson has already sorted the candidates into three categories — those he recommends, those who are qualified but he doesn’t recommend, and those who are unqualified. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, have a bachelor’s degree and have five years of law enforcement experience, at least three of which as an administrator. 

Around 13 of the candidates made it into the recommended group, Police Commission Chair Laurie Foster said during Wednesday’s meeting. 

Those who fall into the qualified but not recommended category may meet the basic requirements but lack desired experience or skills. For example, that category includes an applicant who oversees a five-person department. Another one who has the necessary qualifications has applied to multiple positions through the same consulting firm but has been rejected every time during the interview phase, Foster said during Wednesday’s meeting.

Commissioners will analyze the candidates on Monday and select eight to 10 they’d like to see continue on to the next round of interviews. That’s when select members of the public will get to weigh in.

Interviews will be conducted by panels of community representatives on May 5. Twenty people have confirmed participation on the panels, and five more are pending confirmation. Foster said she would share their names after Wednesday’s meeting. 

Candidates’ names will remain confidential through the panel interviews, and panelists will be asked to sign agreements promising not to leak them. Foster said applicants expect a level of privacy so they don’t risk their current jobs. 

Commissioners will select a group of four to six finalists on May 6, at which point their names will be made public. The finalists will then participate in a public forum on PBS ‘Insights’ on May 14, and community members will have the chance to submit questions. 

Commissioners will interview finalists on May 19 and make their selection at their regular commission meeting on May 20. 

The job has been open since former Chief Joe Logan retired under pressure last June. Rade Vanic has been serving as acting chief in the interim and has expressed interest in the long-term role. Mike Lambert, the director of the state Department of Law Enforcement, has also applied for the position. He announced last week he planned to return to HPD because of an issue with his retirement benefits. 

Mayor Rick Blangiardi has sought to have more influence over the hiring process but what involvement he will have remains unclear. An agenda item to discuss the mayor’s involvement was postponed Wednesday to the commission’s next meeting, which is scheduled for May 6. 

Blangiardi inserted himself into the process last June when he announced Logan’s departure and recommended then-Chief of the Hawaiʻi County Police Department Ben Moszkowicz for the interim position in Honolulu. Moszkowicz prematurely submitted his resignation to the Hawaiʻi County Police Commission. He later lost his job when commissioners refused to let him withdraw his resignation.

Of the more than 500 people who responded to an online survey about what they want to see in the next chief, 70% listed transparency and openness as top priorities.

More than a dozen community members have also testified before the commission stating they want the next chief to promise never to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Vanic has said the department already does not cooperate with ICE, and but he said during Wednesday’s meeting that he’s working on an official department policy to reflect that. 

The community representatives confirmed for the interview panels are:

• Honolulu Emergency Services Director Jim Ireland
• Honolulu Ocean Safety Chief Kurt Lager
• Honolulu mayor’s office spokesmen Scott Humber and Ian Scheuring
• Connie Mitchell, executive director of the Institute for Human Services
• Jocelyn Howard, CEO of We Are Oceania
• Liam Chinn, facilitator of the Hawaiʻi Community Safety Coalition
• Sherry Menor-McNamara, president of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce
• Keoni Souza, vice chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees
• Randal Collins, director of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management
• Honolulu Fire Chief Sheldon Hao
• Trevor Abarzua, executive director of the Waikiki Business Improvement District
• Angelina Mercado, executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Commission Against Domestic Violence
• Christina Wang, medical director for the Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center
• Makalika Nāholowaʻa, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
• Allen Cardines, president of Transform Our World Hawaiʻi
• Don Faumuina, president of the state police union
• David Porter, special agent in charge with the FBI Honolulu Field Office
• Attorney General Anne Lopez
• Thomas Brady, first deputy with the Honolulu prosecutor’s office

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the network that will air the public forum with the finalists.