NEWBURYPORT — A month into Shawn Fenn’s tenure as Mayor Sean Reardon’s new chief of staff, the local resident has garnered praise both from his boss and local officials for how quickly he has taken to the position.
“Shawn Fenn has been a great addition to our team at City Hall,” Reardon said. “He has stepped in seamlessly and taken ownership of several key projects and initiatives, including the website upgrade and the Senior Affordability Task Force. Shawn has also been a valuable partner as we develop the FY27 budget.”
Reardon first announced that Fenn would take over the role in February. Fenn began serving on March 2, and is making $107,000 a year. He recently made news when he ran for Ward 2 city councilor last fall, coming up short against Stephanie Niketic.
He succeeds Christian Cyr, who served his last day with the city on Nov. 21, after working at City Hall for less than a year. Cyr succeeded Andrew Levine, who left the city to become the town administrator of Hatfield.
Traditionally, the chief of staff oversees the day-to-day operations of the mayor’s office, helps coordinate work across departments and serves as an advisor to the mayor on policy, budgeting and organizational strategy.
Asked to describe his first month on the job, Fenn said it has been “a very busy and rewarding time.”
“I learn something and meet new people every single day,” Fenn said. “I came into this role with many years of experience in municipal government, but what I have really been focusing on is building relationships and getting to know the people that make Newburyport special.”
He said it has been exciting to meet with city staff, councilors, volunteers and residents to see how they can collaborate in more productive ways to serve the public good.
“Because of my experience both in municipal work and with Newburyport specifically, I feel like I have been able to really hit the ground running and contribute right away,” Fenn said. “I have taken on a handful of small and large projects and feel like things are going very well with those projects.”
Prior to assuming the role of chief of staff, Fenn most recently worked at UMass-Boston’s Collins Center where he was its public services manager. The Collins Center provides consulting services to municipalities and is dedicated to improving efficiency, effectiveness, good governance, and accountability at all levels of government. He earned a master’s degree in public administration and is a certified project management professional.
“He brings the right combination of skills and a strong understanding of our priorities, and he has quickly developed a clear sense of how to move our work forward for the people of Newburyport,” Reardon said.
Ward 6 City Councilor Mary DeLai said that so far she has found Fenn easy to work with.
“I have found Shawn to be very responsive to my requests, as well as a thoughtful partner and collaborator in addressing residents’ questions and concerns,” DeLai said. “His deep understanding of municipal operations has been extremely helpful.”
Ward 4 City Councilor Beth Trach echoed DeLai’s assessment, noting she has found Fenn to be “communicative and very open to collaboration.”
“I’m particularly excited about working with him on the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) as this is a great example of a place where the administration and council can work together to directly respond to resident concerns,” Trach said.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.