[B]URLINGTON — Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has begun his third term with a number of staff changes, starting with the elevation of Jordan Redell, the 2014 University of Vermont grad who managed his campaign, to the position of chief of staff. Redell replaced Brian Lowe, whom Weinberger named as the city’s chief innovation officer. Lowe replaced Beth Anderson, whom Weinberger named as the city’s chief administrative officer.
“The start of a new term is frequently a time of some change in staffing,” Weinberger said in an interview on Wednesday.
Anderson has been the city’s interim chief administrator since Sept. 2017. Pending approval of the city council at its April 30 meeting, she’ll occupy the same position only in a more permanent capacity. The chief administrative officer oversees the office of the city’s clerk/treasurer, which serves a variety of purposes, from administering public records, collecting property taxes and issuing liquor licenses. Weinberger said Anderson’s challenge in the coming months will be finalizing the city budget.
“Beth’s service to the city includes impressive work on diverse and difficult assignments,” Weinberger said in a press release announcing her appointment. “She has earned the respect and trust of her colleagues and proven herself a responsible and far-sighted steward of public resources.”
Anderson said in an interview Wednesday that her goal is to work with the city on “trying to be smarter and more lean about the way we do our work, to be a more efficient organization” while continuing to meet community needs.
“Especially when things are good, you want to keep that momentum,” Anderson said.
Anderson was named by Weinberger in 2015 as head of a newly created department of “Innovation and Technology.”
Weinberger has credited her with improving the city’s technology systems, “everything from updating terribly outdated firewalls to creating a help desk for city staffers, and improvements to the way in which city uses basic technology,” he said.
Anderson said her previous experience would translate well to her new position. “It was working with every department and that’s something I like about these kinds of positions,” said Anderson.
Anderson’s replacement, Brian Lowe, has been Weinberger’s chief of staff from July 2015. He was the lead negotiator in the city’s efforts to get the University of Vermont and Champlain College to contribute toward major improvements in city infrastructure, Weinberger said.
In his new role, Lowe would be responsible for charting what Weinberger described in his Apr. 3 State of the City address as the progress of each city department in achieving “equity goals” — to be presented in a new “equity report” to accompany the city’s annual report.
Max Tracy, Burlington City Councilor, Ward 2, said on Wednesday that he was pleased both Anderson and Lowe live in Burlington, unlike some previous department heads.
“I really appreciate their commitment to the city…They feel our pleasure and our pain,” said Tracy.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the appointment of Jordan Redell, the 2014 University of Vermont graduate who managed Weinberger’s most recent re-election campaign, as the mayor’s chief of staff. Weinberger said he felt Redell displayed “tenacity and political judgment” as his campaign manager. Before that, she was an administrative coordinator in the mayor’s office.
“She’s been with me for almost three years in the mayor’s office,” Weinberger said. “She knows how the mayor’s office works, she knows how I’m trying to lead the city and what my vision is and priorities are.”
“The Chief of Staff is someone the mayor needs feel he can work well with,” Tracy said.
