Williams wants back in -- oh yeah, now there's a good idea
30 external candidates and one internal, Captain Tom McNulty, are all on the so-called short list of candidates to be our next police chief, this down from the hundreds of applicants who originally applied for the open position.

Former Sarasota Sheriff's administrator Dave Gustafsen is out. So is SSO Lieutenant John Kost. So is ex-Venice chief Julie Williams who, incredibly, tried too late to get her name on the short list of candidates to replace herself.

Williams was presumably operating under the deluded assumption that her only problem here in Venice was with the former city manager, Isaac Turner, who essentially booted her out. With Turner gone, Williams apparently thought that maybe Venice would welcome her back with open arms.

Ya think maybe Williams ain't quite following her prescribed meds regimen very closely?

A letter from the city dated just over a week ago (link - PDF 1 page) should have snapped Williams back into reality-based politics. But then she is more powerful than Obama, according to her own audio-recorded statements, so who knows what the hell is going on in her cranial cavity?

On the other hand, Sarasota Police Department Captain Thomas (Stan) Duncan is still in the running. So is retired Bradenton P.D. administrator Bill Tokajer and ex-North Port chief Terry Lewis.

The current interim chief, Dave Dunaway, is not applying for the job. Dunaway has repeatedly stated that he will retire later this year and that he has no interest in being selected as Venice's next chief of police.

A police advisory board has been formed to make the final recommendations to city council. The board is made up of city government bureaucrats with no non-city employed citizens. Included on the board is Nancy Woodley, who is the interim city manager, along with H.R. director Alan Bullock and interim police chief Dave Dunaway. The makeup of the board appears to set the stage for the rubberstamping of either Lewis or Tokajer, who are candidates that are predicted to maintain the status quo at the VPD.

Gentlemen, start your Googles
The complete list of VPD chief candidates is below, and it has been updated with previous employment information since its original publication.

Eugenio Bernal (Orlando P.D.)
Anthony Bollinger (Titusville P.D.)
Richard Carr (Fort Myers P.D.)
Lionel Cote (Satellite Beach P.D.)
Kent Crutcher (Normal, Illinois, P.D. - retired chief)
Ronald Curtis (Lee County S.O.)
Don Daniel (Casa Grande, Arizona, P.D.)
H. Randall Dilling (Miami Springs P.D.)
Thomas "Stan" Duncan (Sarasota P.D.)
Jessie Durrance (Polk County S.O.)
Dwayne Flournoy (Hallandale Beach P.D.)
Rachel Hughes (Pinellas County S.O.)
Paul Kiley (Fort Lauderdale P.D.)
Roland LaCroix (Orange County, Florida, S.O. - retired; University of Maine P.D. - current)
Robert Lee (Newbury, New Hampshire, P.D.)
Leonard Patrick (Boynton Beach P.D. - retired)
Terrance Lewis (North Port P.D.)
Thomas Loughren (Micosukee Tribe Florida P.D.)
Mark Lowe (Republic, Missouri, P.D.)
Jeffrey Masslan (Seminole Tribe Florida P.D.; Coral Springs P.D.)
Thomas McNulty (Venice P.D.)
Frank Mercurio (Avon Park P.D.; FDLE; Sarasota County S.O.)
Michael Mills (South Miami P.D.)
Paul O'Connell (Broward County S.O.; Pompano Beach P.D.)
Richard Perez (Wilton Manors P.D.; Fort Lauderdale P.D.)
Sal Ruggiero (Tampa P.D.)
Gary Shimminger (Miami Dade P.D.)
Mark Teunis (Clearwater P.D.)
Glenn Theobold (Miami Dade Metro P.D.)
William Tokajer (Bradenton PD)
Thomas Wilder (Marion County S.O.)

John Patten is the editor and publisher of Venice Florida! dot com and had previously worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times.