Photo by Linda Harris Capt. Wes Crawford reacts to getting the nod as Steubenville's next police chief. Crawford, a 23-year veteran of the force, will succeed Chief Ken Anderson, who is retiring July 20 after 33 years on the job.

STEUBENVILLE — Steubenville’s next police chief will be Capt. Wes Crawford, a 23-year veteran of the force.

Crawford’s appointment, announced by City Manager Mike Johnson, won unanimous approval Tuesday from City Council. The announcement followed a recommendation by the five-member executive subcommittee tasked with sifting through the applications and deciding who to interview, unanimously endorsing him for the job.

“The decision on who to pick was a very difficult decision for me as I believed all three captains were qualified and would have done a fine job as police chief,” Johnson said. “All the interviews were very good and all three have served the citizens of Steubenville extremely well during their police officer careers. For me, it just came down to a gut feeling that I should go with Capt. Crawford. I look forward to working with him in his new role and I want to do everything I can to help him and the police department continue to provide excellent service to the citizens of Steubenville.”

All three candidates interviewed by the panel came up through the city police department and had previously been described by Johnson as “highly qualified” for the chief’s job, which will be vacated July 20 with the retirement of 33-year veteran, Chief Ken Anderson.

“He’s a great hire, I’m excited that he is a young guy,” Mayor Ralph Petrella, a member of the subcommittee, said after the meeting. “He wants to really build on what Chief Anderson is doing and he also wants to be involved and visible in the community. We had three really great candidates and it was a very hard decision — we’re lucky to be in the position we are in with our police department. Crime rates are at an all-time low and it’s because of the effort of our police department working with our citizens to prevent crime.”

Councilman at large Joel Walker, who retired from the police force, agreed they had three really good candidates apply from within the department.

“Going through the process, we believed as a group that Wes is the best person at this time to keep the department moving forward as it is,” he said. “I think he’ll do an excellent job, and I’m glad we’re putting a system in place where (department heads) can work with the person who is leaving, so we have a smoother transition.”