Paul Bass File Photo
Sean Matteson, at left with former top city lawyer (now federal judge) Victor Bolden, putting out a fire for the mayor in 2012 at 200 Orange.
Mayor Toni Harp tapped one of her predecessor’s top aides to help steer city government again.
Harp has chosen Sean Matteson to serve as her acting chief administrative officer (CAO). Matteson replaces Mike Carter, who resigned from the position effective Sept. 7.
The CAO oversees city government’s nuts-and-bolts service departments like police, fire, public works, emergency management, and public works.
Matteson is no stranger to City Hall. He served as Mayor John DeStefano’s chief of staff for seven years, earning a reputation for effectively taking care of business behind the scenes with a self-effacing manner and without drama. He most recently worked for a charter school advocacy group called ConnCAN. Before joining the DeStefano administration, Matteson worked as a political lobbyist for the union now known as UNITE HERE. (In his subsequent jobs he sometimes found himself on the opposite side of labor on policy issues.)
Matteson begins the acting CAO position Sept. 24 at an annual salary of $125,000. He has six months to move into New Haven from Hamden, according to a letter the Harp administration filed with the Board of Alders about the appointment.
Melissa Bailey File Photo
Matteson.
Harp said in an interview Friday that she hopes to see Matteson assume the position permanently. She’ll need approval from the Board of Alders for that to happen.
She said Matteson’s city government experience was a major factor in her decision to hire him. She noted that the CAO Carter oversaw the rolling out of a new campaign of multi-agency code-enforcement and problem-solving sweeps of neighborhoods across the city.
“I didn’t want us to lose momentum,” Harp said. “I really needed somebody who could hit the ground running.”
And to manage her next reelection campaign on the City's dime.