Nine months of running the Langley Police Department and nine years with the city was enough to convince Mayor Fred McCarthy and the Langley City Council that Dave Marks was their man.

Marks was confirmed as the city’s chief of police at the council’s regular meeting Monday, June 2.

“He’s done a great job as the interim chief,” said Councilwoman Rene Neff. “He seems to be a person who will listen.”

Marks compiled a binder full of data about the city’s police force — what they do, where they respond to calls, how much time is spent on community policing — which was used in the mayor’s recommendation to create a three-officer police force with a chief overseeing law enforcement in Langley. On Monday, Marks was sworn in as the police chief. His sons Joshua and Jacob sat front and center in a flashback to when Marks first joined the Langley Police Department.

“I’m a little bit superstitious,” Marks said. “When I swore in nine years ago I had one in a stroller and one in a basket.”

His wife, Jennifer, pinned the chief’s badge onto his uniform.