YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor-elect Derrick McDowell said he will conduct formal interviews this week with the city’s current chief of staff, law director and finance director to determine if they will remain in their current positions when he takes over Jan. 1.

McDowell said his goal is to have a decision on the three by Friday, but “I cannot guarantee that we will have the final answer for each of those positions by” then.

Outgoing Mayor Jamael Tito Brown hired Nikki Fields in September 2019 as his chief of staff and community planning and economic development department director.

Law Director Lori Shells Simmons started in January 2024.

Both are at-will employees and could be retained or fired by McDowell.

McDowell said both said they were interested in staying on in their roles in his administration.

“It is my intent regardless of your personal relationship (with Brown) and professional relationship to interview every single existing department head,” McDowell said. “We’re not coming in with any caveats.”

Finance Director Kyle Miasek was hired in early 2006 as deputy finance director by then-Mayor Jay Williams. He served in that capacity during two other mayoral administrations. When Brown took over in January 2018, he named Miasek as his interim finance director without a deputy. It wasn’t until March 2021, more than three years later, that Miasek was officially named finance director.

Unlike Fields and Shells Simmons, Miasek has civil service protection that would move him back to deputy finance director if McDowell chooses not to retain him. McDowell said Miasek wants to remain as finance director.

McDowell said the interviews with the three this week will help him determine what he wants to do. Finding the right fit for those three positions is the first phase of McDowell’s plans to build his cabinet.

“We need to be strategic in how we do this and be deliberate,” he said.

While only two other mayors — Charles Sammarone and Brown — have hired chiefs of staff, the others had secretaries that served in lesser capacities. McDowell said he wants a chief of staff.

McDowell, who’s never held elected office before, said: “Let’s not mince words about it. I have a huge learning curve and that position is going to be vital in assisting me in getting up to speed on what’s going on in every city department and for vision setting.”

Pointing out that Fields also heads the community planning and economic development department, McDowell said: “We need a strong economic development department and a thriving engine to go after the dollars we’ll need to execute what the people of Youngstown are asking of us. They want to see roads paved and neighborhood investment.”

McDowell said next on his list will be finding a police chief and a fire chief. As he is doing with chief of staff, finance director and law director, McDowell said he will interview the incumbents — police Chief Carl Davis and fire Chief Barry Finley — first, decide if he wants to retain them and if not, look for replacements.

The two chiefs want to remain in their positions, McDowell said.

Both retired while serving as chiefs, with Brown rehiring them. If McDowell chooses to not retain them, the two would leave city employment through retirement.

There are those inside the departments and former city employees who have expressed interest in the chief jobs as well as other positions, McDowell said. However, no one has submitted a formal application.

McDowell said he is first going to interview all incumbent department heads to see if they are the right fit before deciding if he needs to look elsewhere.

“I want to give the opportunity to those department heads to present the work they’ve been doing on behalf of the citizens of Youngstown in an effort to show us what they’re working on and why they should be permitted to retain their positions,” he said. “This approach is an exciting opportunity for us to evaluate everyone and the work they’ve done. The first phase is to evaluate what we have now.”

McDowell said: “The ultimate goal is to come in Jan. 1 as strong as we possibly can. I believe the best way to do that is not ignore, but take into full account what we have right now. It’s so vital to understand what you presently have in your wheelhouse. The first phase is to interview the existing department heads and then assess from there if we still need to go out.”

While McDowell said he wants decisions on Fields, Shells Simmons and Miasek by Friday, that may not be possible without further interviews.

“We certainly don’t look to carry this on indefinitely,” he said.

If a decision isn’t reached Friday, McDowell said, “It may indicate I need more time or we’ve got another applicant who I think is a stronger or better candidate. We may have interim appointments. Interim is a term we use when we’re still searching.”

McDowell said he is “after qualified and competent folks who can step in with a passion, a drive and can help deliver on the vision for the future of the city of Youngstown.”

McDowell, an independent, beat Brown, a two-term Democratic mayor, 55.1% to 44.6% with write-ins getting the remaining 0.3% of the vote though only two of those votes will count. The Mahoning County Board of Elections will certify the final results today.

McDowell will take office Jan. 1 and become the city’s first independent mayor since Williams won 20 years ago.

McDowell doesn’t expect to have his cabinet fully in place by Jan. 1 – which is typical of previous mayors elected to their first terms.

“In a perfect world we would (have it finalized), but we’re working within a small time frame between the election and the new year,” McDowell said. “We are doing the work so we can go into Jan. 1 with as strong of an administration as we can.”

McDowell owns the Youngstown Flea on East Federal Street, a business where artisans sell their wares. McDowell said he’s never taken a salary as the head of the business and plans to have an existing advisory committee take care of vendors, social media and handling the monthly events.

“As mayor, the Flea cannot dominate my time so we have some folks to step up and assist,” he said.