Warren names transition team members

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The volunteer leaders of Rochester Mayor-elect Lovely A. Warren’s transition team have extensive knowledge in the legal and business fields, and the work on the transition begins now.

Warren, fresh off an Election Day win over Mayor Thomas S. Richards and Green Party candidate Alex White, will take office Jan. 1, leaving less than two months to get people into place.

Warren said she has already fielded resumes of people who are interested in working for her team, and in the days and weeks ahead, a transition team of “accomplished, trusted individuals” will talk with the 77 employees who report directly to or were appointed by the mayor to determine if they want to reapply or apply for other jobs in the new administration.

Christopher Thomas, a partner with the Nixon Peabody law firm, who has successfully represented city government on two lawsuits dealing with previous mayoral transition issues, and dt ogilvie, who is dean and professor of business strategy and urban entrepreneurship at the Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology, will head up the team.

Warren said she has some people in mind for key but unspecified positions, but ogilvie said she is interested in hearing from city staff.

“We don’t want to lose the talent or the expertise and experience that we have in City Hall,” ogilvie said.

Thomas, who recently was named a Leader in Law by The Daily Record, will serve as spokesman for the transition. He is no stranger to transitions, having worked with Warren and current Mayor Thomas S. Richards on a transition plan after then-Mayor Robert J. Duffy left to be lieutenant governor.

A website will be set up to not only provide people with a way to submit resumes, but also to provide input on the city’s direction, he said.

“The transition reflects Lovely’s approach — open, transparent, seeking support and welcoming input,” Thomas said.

Strategic Community Intervention — a consulting business that was founded by former Rochester Mayor William A. Johnson and which has several former and current government officials on staff who have helped in other transitions — will be retained once contract details are ironed out. Costs would be paid by the city.

The consultant will help in various ways. Thomas said public sessions and focus groups will be scheduled to gather input on key issues such as public safety and economic development and to turn those ideas into action.

The group also will have a laser focus on the development of the next city budget as well as the people, some of whom have 30-plus years of experience, at City Hall, Thomas said.

“They know what works. They know what doesn’t work,” Thomas said. “We want the knowledge and experience they bring with them.”

Duffy, Johnson and Richards have pledged to assist in the transition, Thomas said.

“This transition is about talent,” Thomas said. “The hallmark of a good leader is to engage talent.”

And, by the way, Warren also will be in transition mode.

A decision on when she leaves her City Council presidency could be announced in the next week. She was invited to participate in a Howard University Institute of Politics seminar geared toward urban mayors which covers public safety, municipal finance and crisis management, among other topics.

“I have every expectation I will return with new ideas and new relationships that will propel our city forward,” Warren said.

For more info

A transition office will open Nov. 19 in the fourth floor of the Ellwanger Building, 39 State St. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A website is expected to be running by Friday, at www.warrentransition.com. The number is (585) 820-8413.