by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Mayor John Peyton’s transition team subcommittees have recommended candidates to fill one-third of the available departmental management openings created when the mayor accepted mass letters of resignation from department heads and division chiefs.
Most of the names put forward are familiar. The subcommittees began the interview process with incumbents and have recommended that 17 department leaders keep their jobs. The subcommittees will compare incumbents to new candidates from ongoing interviews to staff the other positions.
However, the mayor would like to have a deeper pool of candidates to choose from. Former sheriff Nat Glover, the transition team co-chair, told the team to seek out candidates from the private sector.
“The better people for these positions aren’t going to be in line trying to get a job,” said Glover. “You almost have to go seek them out.”
The subcommittees were created by Mayor John Peyton to recommend personnel and structural changes to 13 City departments, but staffing and organizational decisions will ultimately rest with the Mayor.
Chief of Staff Scott Teagle said the process would continue to move expeditiously.
“We need to remember, these aren’t just names on a paper, these are people’s lives,” said Teagle. “Let’s move this forward as fast as possible. These are people who have held these jobs in some cases for 10-or-more years and the uncertainty of this period can be unsettling.”
The recommendations:
• The Public Works Subcommittee recommended keeping Director Lynn Westbrook [named this week as interim chief operating officer for Sam Mousa], Deputy Director Ed Hall, City Engineer John Pappas, Chief of Public Buildings Bill Watson and Chief of Streets and Highways Jeff Beck. The subcommittee will continue to interview for chief of building inspection and zoning, traffic engineer and real estate officer.
• The Planning Subcommittee recommended keeping Director of Planning Jeannie Fewell, Deputy Director John Crofts and Director of Comprehensive Planning Michael Herzberg. This completed the subcommittee’s work with respect to personnel recommendations.
• The Neighborhoods Subcommittee recommended keeping Chief of Neighborhoods Services Lorrie DeFrank and Chief of Public Information Dave Roman. The subcommittee will keep looking to fill John Curtin’s department director job, John Merritt’s animal care and control job, chief of Property Safety and chief of Clean It Up/Green It Up.
• The Administration and Finance Subcommittee recommended keeping Director of Administration and Finance Cal Ray, Deputy Director Shari Shuman, Chief of Risk Management Mary Arditti, Budget Officer Francisco Castriota and City Comptroller Kevin Stork. The subcommittee will continue interviews for chief of human resources, chief of information technologies, chief of procurement and supply, chief of fleet management and chief of training and development.
• The Community Service Subcommittee recommended keeping Director Judith Truett. It will continue to interview for chief of Adult Services, chief of Community Development, chief of Disabled Services, chief of Mental Health and Welfare and chief of Victim Services.