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therealDrA OP t1_j2agceo wrote

How are these appointments looking?

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Kelruss t1_j2andyr wrote

Odd. It's a lot of the same folks who have had a hand in running the city at some point in the past eight years. Not as much of a break with Elorza as the campaign made it out to be, in that respect.

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Sarcofaygo t1_j2bxgar wrote

Catch 22 of sorts — if you hire people without experience running providence, smiley would be criticized for hiring people that don't understand the city

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Kelruss t1_j2c3ri4 wrote

I guess, but media and his campaign often presented him as the candidate who represented the most significant change from the Elorza administration. Plus, it's not clear to me that the folks who staffed Elorza set Elorza up for the best success. So it's sort of odd to see all these people who were part of Elorza's early days return, while other experienced folks overseeing current projects are being axed.

I will say I find all three of the new appointments highlighted in this release a little head-scratching. You have a lifer in prisons running Public Works, where you'd expect someone who might have background in streets or sewers or construction of some sort; and a military logistician in charge of Public Property instead of someone who knows facilities. Hiring an actor/director for Arts, Culture & Tourism makes intuitive sense, but I also can't see it being that fulfilling to a creative type, when the job is largely about securing funding and managing events.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's just not the sort of appointments I expected from him.

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hurricanetruther t1_j2dvyfp wrote

That's a charitable read. As this sub's Designated Smiley Voter, I'm shaking my head at the DPW choice and very disappointed in it. I cannot for the life of me understand it for any reason other than a political one, whether it's a friend of his from the Raimondo days or a placeholder for someone else. And so if it is political, then that's an ominous beginning.

DPW is the department which arguably has the most influence on Smiley's primary campaign promise: the best run city in America. And so he appoints a lawyer who ran the prison system. I mean what? Even his press release didn't try to sell her to the residents as anyone other than someone who oversaw a large organization, suggesting that this department head will be completely divorced from what's going on at ground level and will exist to crunch numbers.

I believe you need department heads with subject matter expertise. I don't even think this should be a controversial statement, yet here we are with a person with zero SME managing one of the city's most public facing and important departments. Yes, you don't want someone without management experience or talent in the role, but that person should absolutely have been involved in the department's business. Not respecting SME is how you wind up with clueless managers who make unreasonable or even impossible demands as well as major blunders.

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Kelruss t1_j2dza31 wrote

Good points. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but given how early he began the transition and his whole emphasis on streets, I guess I was thinking he’d get some hotshot with significant experience in the field from out of state to run DPW. Definitely not this pick.

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Sarcofaygo t1_j2c4mov wrote

Definitely valid. I'm hoping for the best, but yeah seems curious.

I think providence is deceptively simple to outsiders, but thats just the tip of an iceberg where there is a lot of intricate moving parts behind the scenes.

A rube goldberg machine that resembles it's convoluted road system, lmao

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DDeast t1_j2earpt wrote

With this tight labor market, the applicant pool might be shallow as well. Really wish there were more SME talent in DPW, or a more clear roadmap from Smiley that he is going to broaden the remits of other city agencies to deliver on his promise of better services to PVD’ residents.

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