By George P. Hassett

Anthony Holloway, a Clearwater, FL police captain, will be the city’s next top cop starting in January, announced Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone at a news conference this morning.

Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone and Attorney General Martha Coakley also attended the meeting and congratulated Holloway on his new post.

Holloway has been a cop in Clearwater since 1986 and said he looked forward to bringing the skills he learned there to Somerville. “I want to be a part of the good things that are happening here,” he said at today’s announcement at City Hall.

Holloway was one of three finalists for the post, along with Miami Captain Ruben Galindo and Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley, a 38 year veteran of the Somerville Police Department.

Curtatone praised Bradley today as an “aggressive, progressive leader” for the department, but said Holloway’s hire represented the beginning of a new era for local police.

“I chose someone whose credentials, background and passion make him the ideal candidate for the job,” he said. Curtatone said the division Holloway commands in Clearwater and its budget nearly match the force he will be taking over in Somerville.

During the public comment period of the selection process, 14 citizens wrote in to advise Curtatone on his decision. Ten said Galindo should get the job, three said Bradley deserved it and one reccommended Holloway. However, even that citizen said Galindo would be an asset to the city but is “too overqualified” and “would get bored quickly” and reccommended Holloway as the next best choice.