Mayor Rick Kriseman

St. Petersburg has emerged from the Great Recession with a rejuvenated spirit and a bold vision. Like so many in our community, I am excited about our early progress and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

The recent strides we have made extend to our police department.

It took too long and looked too messy, but St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman made an inspired choice in selecting Clearwater police Chief Anthony "Tony" Holloway as the city's next chief. Holloway has the Tampa Bay experience and leadership skills to turn around the divided St. Petersburg department. The bumpy road to his surprise appointment will be forgotten if he is successful, and voters will hold the mayor accountable if his new police chief falls short. 

Mock the process, if you are so inclined.

After all, it took the mayor six months and $15,000 in headhunter fees to discover his idea of a perfect police chief was a few miles up the road.

And contemplate sinister plots, if you must.

For there have been enough division, rancor and politicking surrounding the job of St. Petersburg's police chief to give conspiracy theories a legit launching point. 

Just allow for this possibility, if you would.

Tony Holloway is a smart hire.

This is the full text of a statement that St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman released Monday regarding his choice for the new chief of the St. Pete Police Department 

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has named Anthony "Tony" Holloway as chief of the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Holloway previously was the Clearwater Police chief, a job he's held since 2010, and was chief of police for Somerville, Mass., from 2007 to 2010, according to an editorial by Rick Kriseman that ran in the Tampa Bay Times. 

The drama regarding the choice of a new police chief in St. Petersburg is over, as Mayor Rick Kriseman named Clearwater Chief of Police Anthony Holloway to become the city's top cop, effective mid-August.

 "We are a force that's going to stand together," Holloway said in his opening remarks inside the department's training facility on First Avenue North, before a room filled with reporters, department officials and members of the public. "We're going to build some bridges back into the community."

The group appointed to determine what residents want as the city reboots its effort to redevelop the Pier completed its assignment Tuesday.

A final report will suggest a list of amenities hundreds of people who participated in five recent public-input sessions and an online survey consider essential. It also will include elements that have been part of the long-running process to build anew or refurbish the shuttered inverted pyramid.

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