Ted Hess-Mahan breaks the news here.*
[David Olson] has been chosen by the mayor to run the elections department as interim director after Peter Koutoujian Sr’s contract expires March 15
*At least this is the first place I’ve read about it.
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like
As much as I believe there should be a totally separate elections head (for a number of reasons), we could not possibly do better than to have David Olson at the helm. For anyone not aware of how things really work at city hall, David and his team are the people who keep everything on track. And that’s saying something. A very valuable group that’s under-appreciated.
David is one of the most well grounded, dedicated, qualified, and trustworthy public servant we have in this city. Most of all, when you ask him a question, you always get a direct answer. Very rare.
I just hope he’s getting some additional compensation for these new duties. It will not be easy and he’s busy enough as is.
Announcements about department head appointments should come from the Mayor’s office.
@Jane: It should, but it didn’t (at least I haven’t seen anything about this). I can understand why you might be upset with the administration for apparently not announcing a department head change that’s happening next week.
Greg: Nice scoop, if true. (I thought you had hung up your spurs). Is this confirmed as fact? And I agree with Charlie: David Olson embodies all that is good regarding public service.
@Bill: It’s Ted’s scoop. Village 14 is happy to loan its spurs to anyone who wants to try em on. That includes you.
I had the pleasure of going on a walk/talk that David Olson led around City Hall grounds a couple of years ago, on the history of the building and grounds. It was fascinating. He is a great researcher and reservoir of knowledge!
@Charlie, why the resistance to the clerk’s office and the elections dept being under one roof?
It’s always struck me as a natural fit, compounded only by the fact that in Newton the Clerk works for the BOA.
Uh, this isn’t exactly a scoop, folks. It was a docket item on the Programs and Services Agenda, and has been discussed previously in committee in connection with scheduling the upcoming special elections. Here is the docket item:
There were about 40 people in the room when this docket item was discussed last night, so this would have to be one of the worst kept “secrets” in City Hall.
Here’s the poop (not the scoop): Bob Rooney informed the committee that the Mayor wishes to appoint David Olson to serve as head of elections until the Mayor comes to the BOA with a proposal for reorganization of the city clerk and elections departments. David Olson is also the Clerk of the BOA, which means he works for the BOA, hence the need for a resolution to permit him to take on additional duties. Under the City Charter, The Mayor also has to give the BOA notice and an opportunity to object to department head appointments.
@Charlie, I share your concerns and asked many of the same questions. And, as you can corroborate, I got a direct and honest answer from David Olson. In most MA communities, the clerk is responsible for elections. State law allows cities to separate the clerk’s office from elections, and Newton did so many years ago. Given many of the technological advances requiring fewer staff to run elections than in the past when everything was done manually, it makes sense to consider consolidating elections back into the clerk’s office. David serves as an elections warden in Easton where he lives, and knows what the job of running an elections department entails. He will have the support of the experienced elections department staff, who will be moving to a new office space right next to the clerk’s office. (Fun fact: the space where the elections staff will move used to be connected to the clerk’s office until a “temporary” wall was erected in 1935.) He is confident he can do the job with the assistance of the elections department staff, supplemented by additional staff in the clerk’s office during busy periods around elections. I don’t believe he gets any additional compensation (frankly, it did not occur to me to ask), but I share your confidence that he can do the job, and do it well.
@Jane, you really seem to be nursing some kind of a grudge. FWIW, a grudge is like giving someone free rent in your head.
Greg-Who said anything about being upset? I merely stated that “breaking news” about the replacement of a department head should come from the mayor, not a blogger.
@Jane: when I wrote
I meant..