Wasilla Mayor to swear in Belden as new chief Wednesday

WASILLA — The Wasilla Police Department only had to wait four days before Mayor Verne Rupright located a new chief.

Tuesday, Rupright announced plans to swear in Gene Belden as the new chief Wednesday morning.

Belden takes over for Mike Hughes who came to the department from Texas and spent 10 months on the job.

“As far as Mike is concerned I can’t talk about it because it’s an internal personnel matter. It’s nothing evil or bad it’s just he was separated from city service,” Mayor Rupright said.

Belden has a long history in the Valley. His family homesteaded here, Rupright said. Belden graduated from Wasilla High School, beginning his career there when the school was housed in the building that now serves as city hall.

“He knows Wasilla since the days it was dirt roads,” Rupright said. “His class was the first one to go into the new high school.”

Belden went into the Navy, served during Vietnam, then served as a Palmer police officer and an Alaska State Trooper. Rupright said Belden became a sergeant out of the Palmer detachment and had his hand in investigating and making arrests in some relatively high-profile cases.

“A lot of the older officers at the Wasilla Police Department know Gene and have worked with him in the past,” Rupright said. “They know where they stand with a guy like him.”