Van Campen Names Transition Team, May Tap Councillors for Top Departments

By Neil Zolot

Now that Robert Van Campen has been elected Mayor, he is now tasked with putting together a team to handle the transition from the (Mayor Carlo) DeMaria administration to his City Hall staff. In an announcement released this week by Van Campen, members of the Transition Team include Christopher Connolly, Van Campern’s campaign manager, who will serve as chair; State Senator Sal DiDomenico, who will serve in an ex-officio or “from the office” capacity based on his position; Ward 2 Councillor and City Council President Stephanie Martins; Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith; Ward 5 School Committee Member Marcony Almeida Barros; Somerville Finance Director Edward Bean; Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez; Oliveira’s restaurant proprietor Wilton Rangle and local community activist Jocelyn Solis. The transition process will be facilitated by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston. “I am honored to bring together a team that reflects the best of our community,” Van Campen said. “These distinguished individuals bring experience, vision and a shared commitment to building a stronger and more inclusive future for our community.”

City Hall employees serve at the will of the mayor; be they close political appointees or his personal staff, such as a Chief of Staff or various department heads who have professional credentials to work there. Given DeMaria has been mayor for 18 years, the situation is unfamiliar to most. Employees that work for the City Council, such as aides Michael Mangan and David Flood, are not affected. City Clerk Sergio Cornelio is also not an appointee of the mayor and is unaffected.

“The Transition Team will receive presentations from several of the major operating departments, financial officials as well as the School Department,” Stephen McGoldrick of the Collins Center said. “At the direction of the mayor-elect, this process is intended to inform the new Administration of the opportunities and challenges currently facing each city department.”

The Transition Team will submit a comprehensive report to Van Campen on or before December 31. “I am eager to receive this report which will help me begin my tenure in office with focus, momentum and transparency,” he said.

DeMaria said he has been meeting with Van Campen related to the transition and is “committed to ensuring the transition between administrations goes as smoothly as possible in the best interests of the City.”

Rumors have been circulating about who may fill certain positions, with Smith being mentioned as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Martins, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Director; and Councillor-at-Large Guerline Alcy Jabouin as 311 constituent service line director. The rumors are not illogical. Smith has a professional background in finance and Alcy Jabouin worked in City Hall on Constituent Services and with 311 before becoming a City Councillor and has worked with the Everett Haitian Community Center.

Each would have to give up their Council seat and be out of office for at least 30 days before taking on a new position and would have to be replaced on the Council. In Smith’s and Alcy Jabouin’s cases, the seats would go to the runners-up in the recent election for Councillor-at-Large, if they have received 20% of the vote.

Unsuccessful City Council at-Large candidates were incumbent John Hanlon with 2,216 votes, which totaled only 5.77%, followed by Tina Olivieri with 1,941 votes (5%), Jean Daniel with 1,823 voters (4.75%) and Matthew Costello with 1,680 (4.4%). In that case the Council “can appoint any voter from the city for at-Large seats,” Cornelio reported.

Martins ran unopposed and, if she leaves, the Council can appoint a successor who must live in the Ward. Something similar happened last year when School Committee member-at-Large Samantha Lambert resigned. Her seat was offered to the highest runner-up: Cynthia Sarnie. When she declined to serve, it was offered to the next highest vote-getter, Kristin Bairos, who accepted and is now on the Committee.

A less dramatic transition involves Wayne Matewsky becoming a Councillor-at-Large after hailing served as Ward 1 Councillor. His responsibilities will broaden to encompass the entire city, although he said he listened to comments and complaints from rodents all over the city as a Ward Councillor, in part because he had been a Councillor-at-Large and State Representative before his terms as Ward 1 Councillor. He called the change an “upgrade” and plans to work with new Ward 1 Councillor Michele Capone on issues affecting the Ward, as well as Van Campen on various issues.

In the small world of Everett politics, Matewsky was elected as State Representative in 2013 in a Special Election to fill out the term previously held by Steven “Stat” Smith, father of Stephanie Smith. Stat resigned after pleading guilty in a voter fraud case. In 2014 Joe McGonagle defeated Matewsky for the state representative seat, which prompted Matewsky to run for City Council and win in 2015. Health issues led to a resignation, but a recovery led to him running for the Ward 1 seat when Capone gave up the seat to run for Mayor in 2021. He lost, but Matewsky won.