Williams will name CDA chief

Jay Williams quit the city CDA job to run for mayor.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mayor-elect Jay Williams, who resigned as the city's Community Development Agency director, will appoint a successor to his old job.
In April, Williams resigned the position he held for 41/2 years to run as an independent candidate for mayor. As a classified civil service employee, Williams was prohibited under the federal Hatch Act to run for the partisan office of mayor unless he resigned, according to a city legal opinion.
Shortly after Williams' resignation, Mayor George M. McKelvey appointed Mary June Tartan, who has worked at the CDA for about eight years, as its temporary director.
Thirty-eight people took the Oct. 1 CDA director test, administered by the city's Civil Service Commission, with 25 passing the test. A score of at least 70 out of 100 on the test is considered passing.
The commission certified the results and turned them over to McKelvey in late October.
On Tuesday, Williams said McKelvey, whose term expires Dec. 31, won't make the appointment and is permitting him to select the next CDA director.
The job's annual salary is $66,611.48, what Williams made before he resigned.
What CDA director does
The CDA director oversees the agency's budget -- $5.26 million this year, supervises staff and works to develop programs for low- to moderate-income residents and projects to eliminate or prevent blight.
Williams can select any of the top 10 finishers for the job.
Tied for first are William D'Avignon, the city's deputy director of planning, and Raymond DeCarlo, who works as a part-time independent contractor in the planning department.
Both scored 82 points on the written test and received 16.4 additional points for their military experience for a final score of 98.4.
D'Avignon, a Williams supporter, said he took the test because the CDA job pays about $8,000 more a year than his current position. He said he would be interested in talking to Williams, once he is officially mayor, about the job but is comfortable at his current post.
Top 10
Others finishing in the top 10 include:
UKevin Kralj, a former CDA director, who finished fourth with a score of 87. That was the highest total on the written test among those who took it Oct. 1.
UKaren Jackson, a zoning analyst in the city's planning department, who finished fifth with a score of 86.4. That included 14.4 points for military experience.
UAlden Chevlen, former Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. executive director, who finished ninth with a score of 80.
Jamael Brown, Williams' campaign manager, and former Councilman Herman Hill, who worked on Williams' campaign, passed the test but aren't in the top 10.
Brown, a Youngstown school board member who works at the Youngstown State University Center for Urban and Regional Studies, finished 25th place, with a score of 71.
Hill, coordinator of a local youth program, finished 20th with a score of 74.
Other appointments
Besides deciding who will be the next CDA director, Williams will fill 15 mayoral appointee posts.
Williams conducted a nationwide search for seven cabinet jobs: police chief, fire chief, law director, finance director, water commissioner, prosecutor and deputy director of public works.
Williams got about 60 applications in all by Monday's deadline, ranging from 14 for police chief to three for water commissioner.
Williams will give the applications to a transition team to evaluate the qualifications of each candidate. He will make the final decision.
Most of the applicants came from Mahoning County, followed by Trumbull County, Williams said. There were also some from the Cleveland area and smaller cities in Ohio, he said. Williams won't disclose the names of those applying for the jobs.
Williams is tentatively scheduled to be sworn in at a Dec. 31 ceremony on the downtown square on Wick Avenue. Also, he plans to have a swearing-in banquet at Stambaugh Auditorium, tentatively set for Jan. 6.
skolnick@vindy.com