CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston mayor-elect Amy Goodwin announced Tuesday three people for her transition leadership team as she prepares to take office in January.
Goodwin’s team will be led by Carrie Fenwick — who will serve as chair — and Matthew Sutton — the team’s co-chair. Renee Jones will be responsible for managing schedules and correspondence, as well as handling community outreach and engagement.
“They each have a specific skill set, an incredible skill set that we believe will help us gather the best transition team that we can have in the city,” Goodwin said.
Fenwick is a co-managing partner of the Goodwin & Goodwin law firm, and Sutton serves as associate vice president of Fahlgren Mortine, an advertising company based out of Columbus, Ohio. Sutton is a Charleston resident.
Sutton said he was meeting Tuesday evening with members of the current mayoral administration.
“We need to know what projects are ongoing, what funding is tied up with those projects, how long they expect to take and what else is going on,” he said.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, who hosts “580 Live” on WCHS-AM, said on his program last week he is committed to making the transition for Goodwin as smooth as possible.
Jones is leaving office after 16 years as mayor. Goodwin will take office on Jan. 7.
“They have the same goal we do,” Goodwin said. “We want to make sure that projects that are currently on the table continue, that we let the team know what we’re also thinking about.”
Goodwin said several committees will be formed ahead of her taking office regarding matters such as the budget, public health and recreation.
The transition team also set up an email for anyone wishing to be involved with the transition committees or to submit input on ways to improve Charleston.
“This isn’t just going to be the folks we hand select and pick. We want public input as well,” Goodwin said. “There are folks who want to give us and share with us their ideas but don’t want to serve on a transition team. This is just going to be another open door.”
Goodwin related the transition to being a candidate, knocking on thousands of doors to better understand issues in the city.
“People wanted to share their thoughts. They wanted to share their ideas with us. This is just an extension of what we did during the campaign,” she said. “We’re going to listen to our head and our heart, and we’re going to listen to every single person in this city.”
According to Goodwin, the transition team and committees will be in place for at least a year.
“We want to get it done right, not fast,” she said. “We’ll spend our time being thoughtful and reflective of these committees that we put together and the information that comes about from those committees and how we’ll implement those policies or practices within the administration over the next four years.”
Anyone interest in contacting the transition team can email [email protected].