New Newton mayor names transition team

“We all know that we have very serious challenges here in our city. We are not going to be able to solve all the problems we have overnight,’’ Warren said Friday at his former campaign headquarters, now his command post until he moves into City Hall in January. “This is the beginning.’’

The team draws heavily on the Citizen Advisory Group, an influential panel that released a report in April calling for an overhaul of the city’s finances. The team also includes city leaders and elected officials who supported his campaign.

State Representative Ruth Balser, who was the top vote-getter in the Sept. 15 preliminary election but lost to Warren by 2 percentage points in Tuesday’s election, said she would support Warren’s efforts. She noted that she and Warren had run positive campaigns and shared many common views on the challenges facing the city.

“There really was very little difference,’’ said Balser, who donned a black jacket instead of the customary red she wore during her campaign. “Even though the vote was nearly evenly divided, the city is not.’’

Warren praised Balser, who will continue in her role on Beacon Hill, during the event. “She has worked tirelessly for the people of Newton,’’ he said. “She ran an outstanding campaign.’’

Florence Mann, the widow of former mayor Thomas Mann, will serve as an honorary cochair of Warren’s transition team, along with community activist Hubie Jones and Joe DeNucci Jr., the son of the state auditor.

Five members of Warren’s transition team were on the Citizen Advisory Group, a panel set up to study the city’s operations. The group said Newton is running a “structural deficit,’’ meaning that operating costs, fueled by increases in such areas as employee health insurance, are going up faster than revenues.

The panel also said the city has fallen behind in its commitments to infrastructure maintenance and retiree benefits, and recommended it cut some services and raise revenues through new and increased user fees.

The chairman of the Citizen Advisory Group, Malcolm Salter, will serve as an adviser to Warren’s transition team, as will panel members David Humphrey, Scott Oran, Laura Thompson, and Neil Silverston.

Salter said the appointments show that Warren takes the group’s recommendations seriously. “It’s a validation of the work that we’ve done.’’

The transition team will also draw on members of other citizen panels. Paul Levy and Sarah Ecker, the chairman and a member, respectively, of the city’s Blue Ribbon Commission, a predecessor of the advisory group, will offer their guidance, as will Phil Herr, chairman of a 2007 comprehensive planning group.

Rounding out the team are Aldermen Ted Hess-Mahan, Marcia Johnson, and Susan Albright, and School Committee member Dori Zaleznik.

Mann endorsed Warren’s opponent, Balser, during the campaign, and Salter stayed neutral. The rest of the transition team supported Warren.

Steve Grossman, a candidate for state treasurer and former chairman of the state and national Democratic parties who endorsed Balser’s campaign, will serve as an informal adviser.

Warren said his transition team will focus on human resources, city finances, community involvement, and organizing a policy summit. He gave no indication of which heads of city departments he will keep.

“I have not made any decisions on personnel at all,’’ he said.

During the campaign, Warren promised to unify the city, and that pledge will be put to the test as he tries to win over Balser’s supporters. But some observers said that may not prove too difficult because of the genial campaign and the rivals’ agreement on major issues.

Calvin Hennick can be reached at calvinhennick@yahoo.com.