The search for a new Whitefish Bay police chief is down to two candidates, after one of the candidates declined the village's job offer and the other has accepted a new position in La Crosse.

The Whitefish Bay Police Commission recently made a contingent job offer to Burlington Police chief Peter Nimmer, but Nimmer declined the offer and decided to stay in Burlington, according to Whitefish Bay Village Manager Patrick DeGrave.

The commission chose Nimmer from a pool of four applicants. Now that Nimmer is no longer in the running, DeGrave said the Whitefish Bay Police Commission will reconvene in the near future to select a new candidate.

Another of the four candidates, Waukesha Police Captain Ronald Tischer, is also out of the picture, now that he has accepted a police chief job in La Crosse.

The two remaining candidates for the job are Whitefish Bay Lt. Ron Stefanski, who was appointed interim police chief on June 5 , and Milwaukee Police Captain Michael Young.

Stefanski, 49, has been with the Whitefish Bay Police Department for 25 1/2 years, starting as a patrolman and being promoted to lieutenant five years ago. Young has 31 years of law enforcement experience, serving the Grafton Police Department for 3 1/2 years and the Milwaukee Police Department for 27 years.

The Whitefish Bay Police Commission began its search for a new police chief after Robert Jacobs announced his retirement to the Village Board in February.