Blair Myhand, police chief for the city of Clayton, will be the city’s next chief. He starts Feb. 15 at a salary of $107,000.
A police officer for 26 years, Myhand started with the Metro Washington, DC, and moved to Apex. In May 2017, he became police chief of Clayton.
Myhand had been placed on non-disciplinary leave from the Clayton police department in what he described as shift in the political wind. Connet acknowledged that political differences sometimes do arise in the relationship between elected officials and high ranking administrators.
“We work for elected officials and it is their community," Connet said. "There will be times that city managers or police chiefs may make elected officials unhappy.” He said the leave Myhand faced did not concern the city when they looked into it—that it came down to philosophic differences. “Clayton a few years ago hired a manager and police chief that they wanted to be very professional and raise the standards. Over time, things changed and the council felt like they needed to go in a different direction, which is perfectly within their right.”