Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly appointed several dozen community, religious and business leaders to his transition team on Tuesday.
The 39-person committee is tasked with guiding the process of filling permanent positions in the Kelly administration and is Kelly's first public order of business since taking office Monday.
"The transition team will play a critical role in identifying, interviewing, and advising Mayor Kelly on the selection of appointees who will help write Chattanooga's next chapter," a spokesperson for Kelly said in a news release early Tuesday.
The group includes community stakeholders such as Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson, former mayoral candidate Monty Bruell, Mt. Canaan Baptist Church Pastor Ternae Jordan Sr., business owner and activist Keeli Crewe and several members of Kelly's campaign team, including Brent Goldberg, Kelly campaign chief of staff and former chief operating officer for the city.
"I'm excited to announce that we've built a transition team that represents every corner of our great city, and I'm ready to get to work assembling a government that mirrors the city it serves." Kelly said.
In addition to Johnson, Bruell, Jordan, Crewe and Goldberg, the committee members are Angela Garcia, Barry Large, Candy Johnson, Carla Leslie, Charlie Brock, Chris Sands, David Steele, Don Aho, Donna McConnico, Mary Lambert, Edna Varner, Ernest Reid, J. Wayne Cropp, James McKissic, Jefferson Herring, Jelena Butler, Joda Thongnopnua, Kathy Lennon, Kim Shumpert, Kristie Wilder, Lakweshia Ewing, Maeghan Jones, Mark Hite, Melissa Blevins, Paul McDaniel, Ron Harr, Scott Wilson, Sean-Paul Kimball, Stacy Lightfoot, Susan Rich, Terry Ladd, Daniela Peterson, Valoria Armstrong and Donna Elle Harrison.
Brock, Candy Johnson and Jordan will serve as co-chairs of the team, according to the news release, which was "designed to be representative of Chattanooga's residents, in both lived experience and demographics."
Kelly has not yet announced any permanent senior leadership positions but promised during his campaign to hire leadership that reflects the city's demographic makeup.
"My commitment to diversity is steadfast," he said during a March debate. "It will look like the community, and it will be 40% minority represented in the city and in my cabinet."
Since the election, Kelly has also emphasized the importance of continuity, noting that he will be keeping much of the previous administration's staff on, at least through the transitional period.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.