Thomas MacMillan Photo
As she looks to fill out her cabinet, Mayor-Elect Toni Harp said she hopes to interview all current department heads by the end of December.
She said she’ll be asking the current department heads if they would like to stay on, and seeing also if they’d be right for her administration.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at a Thanksgiving food giveaway in Newhallville, Harp (pictured above) said the 14 subcommittees of her transition team will be submitting reports to her by Dec. 14. She said she’ll have short and long-term policy goals in place soon after.
As for the transition website, that’s still a work in progress, Harp said. She hopes eventually to have a spot on it for people to submit ideas for the transition. (Meanwhile you can weigh in with transition advice here.)
Harp said she’s spoken with fire Chief Michael Grant and asked him to come up with some ideas for improving morale in his department. The terms of the police and fire chiefs and most department heads will be up on Feb. 1, Harp said.
City Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden’s contract will be up on Jan. 1. “I’ve asked him to stay,” she said.
I hope this is the same Toni Harp we will see in the future when the cameras are not around. It's certainly the one we need in an inclusive and progressive New Haven. I hope she is also engaged in listening to the community in making decisions about who goes, who comes and who stays.