Filling the cabinet is Williams' first challenge

Youngstown's mayor-elect, Jay Williams, has set a high bar for himself as he goes about filling his Cabinet.
These next few days could be the most important of his administration, as he works his way through finalists for the top jobs in the city.
As we -- and others, to be sure -- recommended, Williams turned to an independent screening panel to help him in his search.
Unfortunately, Williams chose to keep the workings of the committee -- indeed, the very membership of the committee -- secret.
It was, in our view, an unfortunate choice. He justified it by saying that secrecy insured that members of the committee would feel free to serve without being hassled or put upon by job-seekers. Perhaps he secured the participation of some volunteers who would otherwise have refused his request to serve -- who besides Williams knows? Perhaps those participants brought invaluable experience and insight to the process.
But the trade-off is that Williams has sent a message that he is willing to lock the public out of the process when he believes that tactic will make it easier for him to operate. And that is an unhealthy message.
Home run derby
Further, Williams has now put himself in a position whereby each one of his appointments must be a person of such sterling reputation, such impeccable credentials and such demonstrated expertise as to be beyond any second guessing. He has to hit seven home runs.
Williams said last week that a national search yielded about 60 applications for seven advertised Cabinet positions. "I've got at least one excellent candidate for each position, and two or three for most of them," Williams said.
That's encouraging. No mayor can lead a city of any size without a strong Cabinet. And few mayors face the challenges confronting Williams.
Despite recent cosmetic improvements, Youngstown is a city in need of changes that go beyond skin deep. The city must provide essential services in the most economic and efficient manner possible. It must look to build on the recent successes downtown and expand such successes into the neighborhoods. And it must do all that while looking for a way of losing its present title as the city with the highest municipal income tax rate in Ohio.
When we endorsed him, we believed that Williams was the candidate best equipped to do just that. We now hope than he can assemble a Cabinet that will support him in his efforts.
And we hope that Williams' initial foray into pursuing the public's work in secrecy for reasons of convenience and expediency is an aberration and the last of its kind.