Williams will be judged by his appointees

Youngstown Mayor-elect Jay Williams won't take office until Jan. 1, but he is already under the microscope.
That's because Williams is in the process of making decisions that will impact his tenure as mayor.
Williams is deciding who will serve in his Cabinet. Some of the positions are the most important and highest paid in the city's administration.
The media and the general public, both Youngstown residents and those in the suburbs, are watching who Williams appoints.
"The department head appointments are huge," said Patrick Ungaro, who served 14 years as Youngstown mayor. "They will make or break you."
It won't be officially announced until probably Tuesday, but Williams is appointing Jason T. Whitehead, the head of the city's downtown redevelopment agency, to his Cabinet.
The job is currently called secretary to the mayor, a title that hardly describes what Whitehead will be doing for Williams. Williams said he'll change the job title to chief of staff or something similar, and the person holding the post will have significant responsibilities.
After his election, Williams said he would hire the best and the brightest for his Cabinet. It didn't matter if a person supported him or even knew him, Williams said the most qualified would be hired for the jobs.
Whitehead contributed money to Williams' mayoral campaign, they've known each other for 25 years, and they go to the same church.
That could raise flags for some people who may say that Williams is hiring his friends.
But with Williams stressing the importance of this position, he has every right to appoint someone he knows and trusts, and there is no reason to believe Whitehead isn't up to the challenge.
If the rest of Williams' Cabinet is filled with people involved with his mayoral campaign after the mayor-elect advertised nationally for seven of his appointments then he's going to have serious credibility issues.
Jamael Brown, Williams' campaign manager, and former Councilman Herman Hill, who worked on Williams' campaign, took the written civil service test for the vacant position of city Community Development Agency director.
Williams quit that job in April to run for mayor. Federal law didn't permit him to run for mayor while keeping the civil service post.
Outgoing Mayor George M. Mc-Kelvey will let Williams appoint a new CDA director.
Brown and Hill are nowhere near the top 10 of those passing the test so Williams will avoid any potential scrutiny he would have faced if he selected either of them for CDA director.
But by taking the test, Brown and Hill show they are interested in working for the city. We'll have to see if Williams hires either of them for another city job.
Williams received about 60 applications for the seven advertised jobs.
Those positions are finance director, law director, police chief, fire chief, deputy director of public works, water commissioner and prosecutor.
Most of the people currently holding those posts applied to keep their jobs.
Williams will turn over the applications to a transition team to evaluate the qualifications, but he will make the final decision on each appointment.
Williams won't reveal the team members and won't disclose the names of those applying for the jobs. The reason, Williams said, is to respect the privacy of everyone involved and to avoid pressure being placed on his team members.
That's one way of looking at it. After all, Williams isn't breaking any laws by keeping those names secret, and he said the group's members will come from "all walks of life."
But Williams is also casting a shadow over the group. He could stack the secret team with his friends and advisers and few would know.
As one city resident wrote me in an e-mail, if he created a team for this purpose he couldn't wait to disclose the names to show and assure the public that he was doing the right thing.
Overall, there are 15 mayoral appointees.
Besides the secretary to the mayor/chief of staff position and the seven advertised posts, the other jobs are assistants and deputies in the law and prosecutor departments, and the mayor's executive secretary.
Except the last job, the people hired as law director and prosecutor will be primarily responsible for selecting their assistants and deputies.