East Providence Mayor-elect DaSilva begins transition process

Readies team, ponders how to fill out positions in newly-created office

By Mike Rego
Posted 11/13/18

EAST PROVIDENCE — Nearly a week after he was selected by residents as East Providence’s first duly-chosen chief executive officer, Mayor-elect Roberto DaSilva was still coming to grips with his …

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East Providence Mayor-elect DaSilva begins transition process

Readies team, ponders how to fill out positions in newly-created office

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — Nearly a week after he was selected by residents as East Providence’s first duly-chosen chief executive officer, Mayor-elect Roberto DaSilva was still coming to grips with his historic achievement while at the same time laying the ground work for when he formally takes office in just over seven-weeks time.

Mr. DaSilva defeated James Russo for the position as the city switches its’ form of governance from one of manager-council to the that of elected mayor-council. According to the most recent results as posted by the State Board of Elections, he did so by a margin of 52.2%-47% with .7% casting votes for write-in candidates. Mr. DaSilva has garnered 8,347 votes to date compared to the 7,520 of Mr. Russo. Write-ins accounted for 117 votes in the mayoral elections.

It should be noted Rhode Island has no specific date when all votes must be counted and the results are certified.

Of being the city's historic first mayor-elect, Mr. DaSilva, in a November 12 phone conversation, said, “I’m obviously very happy with the result. I feel very honored to have been selected by the community to do this. ”

Part of Mr. DaSilva’s personal transformation into the role will be relinquishing his position as a captain in the Pawtucket Police Department. He said he needs to work out the details with PPD Chief Tina Goncalves, but the process is already occurring.

“I plan on retiring before the end of December,” Mr. DaSilva said. “It’s been very hectic the last few days. There’s a lot of things going on. But I want to give my chief proper notice. She deserves that. I want to do things the right way.”

The manner in which Mr. DaSilva oversees his transition to the office of mayor has also commenced. He was reluctant to publicly discuss whom he has put into place to help with the conversion, saying he has not of yet completely filled out the contingent. The mayor-elect did, however, emphasize he is seeking skilled people to assist his efforts, ones who are knowledgable in the ways of municipal government.

“I’ve been assembling a transition team with what I feel is a very talented group of people,” Mr. DaSilva explained. “My goal is to assemble a group of people with certain disciplines, use their professional experiences to have them go into all of the departments, talk to the directors, find out what are their wants and needs and find out if they’re being run according to best practices, to make sure they’re efficient.”

The mayor-elect, likewise, declined to mention anyone specifically he is considering to hire to share in the execution of his office’s duties, adding he may not adhere to such previously determined positions defined as “chief of staff,” etc.

“I want to be certain I pick the perfect person for the job, and I’m not even sure it will be a chief of staff,” Mr. DaSilva said. “It could be a different position. Whatever title it has, I want to maximize the productivity of that office to attract business and outside interest in our city. That’s very important. I’m even OK waiting until I get in there to decide who I’m going to hire. I don’t see the need to quickly hire someone just for the sake of it.”

If there were to be an extended transition, Acting City Manager/East Providence Police Chief Christopher Parella would likely be involved in the eventual handover of authority.

Of his early talks with the acting manager, Mr. DaSilva continued, “I feel very fortunate to have a tremendous group of people working in city government. I think it will foster a good transition. I’ve been very impressed working so far with Chief Parella. I’ve had good conversations with him already. I feel it’s going to be a very smooth transition. I think by the time I take office on the Eighth of January a lot of the work will have been done ahead of time, and we can focus on doing what needs to be done for the city.”

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Mike Rego

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.