Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Peter Newsham testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations on May 9, 2014. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

There’s a new boss in town, and he looks a lot like the guy who’s been the acting boss for the better part of a year.

Peter Newsham is now officially the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, after joining the force in 1989, becoming an assistant police chief in 2002, and getting nominated by Mayor Muriel Bowser for the top job in February.

Newsham thanked the council and Bowser in a statement, saying “the real recognition goes to the hardworking men and women of MPD … I look forward to building upon those relationships, forging new ones, and leading the finest police department in the nation.”

Citing Newham’s experience, respect among the rank-and-file police officers, and willingness to learn from his mistakes, all but one councilmember voted to confirm him.

“I support this nomination,” says Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who says Newsham is “the first to admit his record has included some mistakes,” though she says that, in leading the investigation into the “debacle” of Pershing Park mass arrests in 2002, she found that Newsham “was always cooperative and always helpful.”

Newsham’s handling of protests, including the Pershing Park incident during World Bank protests in 2002, which cost the city more than $20 million in lawsuits, was one major point of discussion during the series of public hearings for his nomination. Other issues that detractors brought up included allegations of domestic violence in the early 2000s.

“I’ve known Peter Newsham for all 26 years I’ve been on the council,” says Ward 2’s Jack Evans in explaining his support for Newsham. “Like many of us who have been around for a while, you learn on the job. You make mistakes, you learn from those mistakes.”

Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, who voted “present” during the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing in April, citing “reservations born of doubts,” says he decided to vote yes after sitting down with Newsham.

Gray did, however, call for an independent review into D.C. Police’s conduct on Inauguration Day to be “pursued vigorously,” echoing a recommendation from the Office of Police Complaints.

MPD and Bowser have not committed to a review, though Ward 6’s Charles Allen, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, is open to it.

Trayon White, the councilmember representing Ward 8, says that Newsham “has the heart to do this work,” even if he doesn’t agree with the chief on everything. White characterized his relationship with police growing up in Ward 8 as “mostly unsatisfactory,” but added that, since becoming councilmember, he found that Newsham has “been nothing but responsive and that’s what we need”

The council voted 12-1 in favor of Newsham’s confirmation, with At-large Councilmember David Grosso as the lone no. He also voted against Newsham in the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing, too, citing his desire for a more “visionary and transformative” chief.

But the chances of Newsham getting voted down were always nil. Even the leaders of the Never Newsham campaign, which protested his nomination, expected this outcome. Still, though, they say their work continues. “Fighting against his confirmation was just a small part of a larger movement for community control of police and accountability,” says Never Newsham organizer Vasu Abhiraman.

Bowser said in a statement that, “as we continue building a safer, stronger D.C., I look forward to working with Chief Newsham and all the hardworking men and women at MPD.”

Updated with comment from Peter Newsham and Vasu Abhiraman.