Preparing to pass the torch
Avedisian talks about his decision to move on
Mayor Scott Avedisian opened up during an hour-long interview with the Beacon Monday while discussing his impending departure to become the CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, talking about what factored into his decision to take the job and the future of the city, which will be under new management for the first time in almost two decades.
Thursday’s paper will focus on Avedisian’s legacy and his assessment of the highs and lows of his 18-year tenure as a Republican mayor in a staunchly Democratic state. Today’s story focuses on the details of the remainder of his time as mayor and on the impending transition of mayoral duties to City Council president Joseph Solomon.
The when and the why
Avedisian had to give his official notice of leaving his position as mayor to his fellow civil servants at City Hall on Monday, due to a city charter provision, which mandates that city employees give 30 days’ notice when they plan to leave.
However, Avedisian said his last official day working as mayor would be May 15 or 16, and that he would utilize vacation days in the balance between stopping work at City Hall and assuming his new responsibilities in Providence.
Rumors had circulated for a while now that Avedisian was courting possible job opportunities elsewhere, but nothing had been confirmed until last week when it was learned RIPTA would be voting on his appointment to become the new CEO. The following afternoon it was made official and, all of the sudden, the stalwart mayor who couldn’t lose an election and whose tenure has spanned an entire adult generation would be vacating his desk within a month’s time.
“Change is always difficult, but it feels right and it’s probably time,” Avedisian said to start the conversation when asked why he made the decision to take the job at RIPTA. “Change is good for everybody.”
But why would Avedisian decide to make this change in the midst of his 9th term as mayor, in the midst of budget season and with a little over a half year to go until a new election would be held anyways?
“I think when you are given an opportunity, you can’t say, ‘Put it off until next January,’” he said, adding that he had about 48 hours to reply yay or nay to the job offer from RIPTA.
Avedisian also said that an increasing number of longtime city employees who had retired indicated to him it was getting to be time for this change. He mentioned the retirement of fire chief James McLaughlin and deputy chief Edward Hannon, who will both be gone around May 6, as additional challenges that have cropped up.
“In the last three months there’s been at least one retirement a week,” he said. If you started with Linc [former mayor and governor Lincoln Chafee] then you spent seven years with Linc and 18 with me, and that means you’re probably at that retirement point.”
At the same time, the mayor indicated that having a lot of people retire at the same time is an indication that they had found stable, enjoyable work in the city for some time – something he thought of as a positive indicator of the work the city has conducted.
“One of the reasons why people tend to stay is that the work environment is good,” he said. “So, you’re going to have people who are here for 25, 30 years, and that’s good for stability in the city.”
Passing the torch
Avedisian stressed the importance of working with the future acting mayor and current City Council president Joseph Solomon to ensure a smooth transition between his administration and whomever comes next following the November election.
He confirmed sending five “transition documents” outlining important issues happening in the city, along with the stakeholders involved in those issues and possible courses of actions and their corresponding potential consequences. At the top of that pile priority-wise was what to do about the City Hall annex building, which was flooded when a pipe burst over the winter and displaced a large portion of the city’s administrative offices, which have been relocated to the former Greene School on Draper Avenue.
“I’ve sent him a bunch of documents and saw him at numerous events this weekend,” Avedisian said of helping Solomon throughout the transition. “I told him I will continue to send him everything possible I can so he’s prepared to go.”
At the same time, Avedisian urged that he is not going to be dictating any decisions for Solomon, but rather giving him the metaphorical keys to the car and letting him drive in the direction he chooses – albeit with a detailed road map of potential hazards and important landmarks along the way.
“I will only give advice if asked. He certainly doesn’t need me telling him what he should or shouldn’t do,” he said. “If he asks a question I will answer it, other than that we’ll give him all the information that is possible in order to move forward.”
An area will that will be especially interesting to watch moving forward is the impending Fiscal 2019 budget, of which hearings are scheduled to begin on May 29. Avedisian said that Solomon would be receiving a “maintenance budget” with the ability to mold it in the ways he sees fit.
“We’ll give the Council President a whole bunch of options on the budget,” he said. “I’ve asked every department to give me a status report on their department and all those documents will go to him…That will be a document given to him to say, ‘You may want to consider putting that in your budget.’ I want to give him as much information as possible.”
Solomon was not available for an interview prior to Monday’s deadline.
ON THE CALENDAR:
Mayor Scott Avedisian and City Council President Joseph Solomon had to talk city affairs as they both appeared at events throughout the city since last Wednesday. Here they are at an Arbor Day ceremony at Hoxsie School. (Warwick Beacon photo)
