Elorza Administration Exodus - 100% of Senior Staff Has Left

Elorza Administration Exodus - 100% of Senior Staff Has Left

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has been hit hard by staff turnovers in many of his key positions. While many elected officials see a natural transition of their staff as their terms move forward, Elorza has had resignations at each of his top positions in his first 19 months. David Ortiz to Brett Smiley, Sheila Dormody and Tony Simon have all departed. These four were Elorza's top staffers and all have left the Administration in the first 20 months.

See Who Has Left the Mayor's Team Below

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What does the turnover mean?

For Elorza who has never held public officer before, the loss of all of his senior staff as well as their collective experience puts tremendous pressure on the Mayor. Presently, the city seems to be fighting a multi-front war. Now, the city is in the midst of a protracted litigation relating to the management of the fire staffing. The result has been hundreds of thousands in additional legal fees and millions in additional overtime.

Moreover, during the battle with the Firefighter's Union, the Fire Department has gone through multiple fire chiefs, brought back former Department leadership as consultants, and seen upwards of 80 firefighters retire in an effort to preserve their pension benefits.  After Chief Operating Officer Brett Smiley announced his resignation and acceptance of the Chief of Staff position with Governor Gina Raimondo, fire union chief blasted Elorza.

“Brett Smiley’s departure is an unmistakable signal confirming that Elorza is incompetent and destined to drive the city toward insolvency,” said Paul Doughty, the Providence Firefighter Local 799 President. “When your chief operating officer leaves under these circumstances, there is only one conclusion — the Elorza administration is a complete and utter failure. Politically, he’s lost the voter-rich East Side, which will leave him vulnerable in the next election,” told GoLocal.

Elorza continues to battle to keep the city solvent -- some of that conflict's future is tied to the outcome of arbitration that is now being guided by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams, but bigger issues may be pending. The structural issues tied to unfunded liabilities, long-term healthcare obligations, and the decreasing tax base may all finally force the city to a financial tipping point.

Who is left from the original staff?

There are only two members of the the original staff with senior titles still working for the City of Providence.

Marisa O'Gara and Theresa Agonia, both with the title Deputy Chief of Staff, worked on Elorza's campaign. O'Gara graduated from URI in 2012 and Agonia is a 2013 graduate of Roger Williams University and they have the most tenure with the Mayor.

Who is coming in?

 To date, Elorza has brought in two new faces. "Mayor Jorge Elorza today announced that Chief of Policy and Innovation Nicole Pollock will transition to serve as Chief of Staff as part of an ongoing restructuring of the Mayor's executive staff," the administration announced two weeks ago. She formerly headed Innovation for the city and was a staffer at Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Last week, the Mayor filled another hole when he named Courtney Hawkins to serve as Chief Policy Officer. She will oversee "the city's sustainability program, Healthy Communities Office, workforce development programs, partnerships, education policy and serve as senior advisor to the mayor." The South Kingstown native ran the Providence Talks program -- which received funding under the Taveras Administration to increase the verbal skills of Providence's children.

What is next?

With Elorza facing the end of the first half of his term, the first-time Mayor will need to start looking for a political arm to help build towards a re-election. With literally upwards of a dozen names swirling as potential candidates, the Mayor will be faced with multiple financial and political challenges.