Kim Wadding, a six-year veteran of the Dubuque and Newton police departments, met members of the Ames community and City Council Wednesday night, armed not with weapons or a uniform, but with a message of creative solutions.

“Sometimes the uniform can be a little standoffish,” he said, explaining his business formal attire to a curious attendee.

Wadding is the last of four candidates vying to replace Ames Police Chief Loras Jaeger, when he retires from the force this spring. Two of the applicants, Chuck Cychosz and Jim Robinson, currently work for the Ames Police Department.

As an outsider to the organization, Wadding said being open and leading by example would be crucial to gaining the trust of the officers under his command.

“Lots of police chiefs say they have an ‘open door policy’ and that is great,” Wadding said. “But when you are walking down the hallway someone says, ‘Hey Chief, how are you doing today?’ You have to stop and really answer them.”

Mayor Ann Campbell said community members were interested to know how Wadding would handle Ames’ unique population of 50 percent students.

Wadding said the department would have to be “fluid” and “transparent” to gain students’ trust.

In response to a question about a proposed law to allow 19- year-olds into bars, Wadding said students themselves would play an important factor in the success of such a policy.

“What students are looking for is a place to gather. If they can do that responsibly I don’t have much of a problem,” Wadding said. “There is always going to be that percentage that is going to want to go that one step farther. We have to be realistic about that.”

When asked how the department could aid in dealing with issues such as poverty and homeless individuals congregating in public places, Wadding said empathetic policies that do more than “sweep out” problem individuals are necessary, but help from the entire community will be critical to properly address the problem.

“I can solve it on a short-term, but to solve it on the long-term we are going to have to work together,” Wadding said.

When asked how his leadership effected crime rates in Dubuque, Wadding said rates have remained “stabilized.”

He said, however, he prides his force in “closing” the majority of cases in the city and implementing creative solutions to problems, such as simply increasing officer presence in problem areas.

“When I see a problem, if I can give it visibility, and I can give it presence, that goes a long way to solving the problem,” Wadding said.

The council will take feedback from city staff and community members and will possibly make a decision on the position in a matter of weeks.