The City of Sarnia's new chief administrative officer (CAO) says he's looking forward, not back.
It was announced Wednesday that Christopher Carter will assume the role of top city administrator effective April 1.
He has over 20 years of experience in municipal administration, most recently as General Manager of Corporate Services and Deputy CAO for Niagara Region.
Carter, who also has previous work experience as CAO for the Township of West Lincoln, takes over for Margaret Misek-Evans who left in December.
Mayor Mike Bradley easily won reelection in October despite a workplace investigation report in 2016 that found he had bullied and harassed four senior staff members including Misek-Evans.
Contacted by BlackburnNews.com Wednesday, Carter said he has no comment on last term's conflict between the mayor and CAO.
"My objective is to look forward, what happened in the past I have no comment with respect to that," said Carter. "My vision is to move the team forward, move council forward, and really give the citizens and the residents continued great service so that we can be the best place to live, work, and play."
City of Sarnia Human Resources Manager Jim Crawford said they had excellent candidates compete for the CAO job.
He said Mr. Carter is an "employees advocate."
"I think he'll be able to engage the employees very well," said Crawford. "He's got what I would probably call an electric personality, in terms of ensuring that he cares what employees do and how they move forward, and also to make sure that they feel valued in the organization."
In Sarnia, Carter will oversee 424 full-time workers, not including Sarnia police, a $145 million operating budget, and $30 million capital budget.
A resident of Smithville, Ontario, Mr. Carter will move to Sarnia with his family.
-With files from Josh Boyce