Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb names two to reorganized chief-of-staff role

Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb isn’t just hiring one chief of staff. He’s splitting the job into two different roles.

Bradford Davy, the Bibb transition manager who was closely involved in the campaign, will become chief strategy officer. He’ll help Bibb carry out his agenda in such areas as the West Side Market, lead poisoning, racial equity and arts and culture, according to a news release.

Davy comes to City Hall from the Fund for Our Economic Future, where he worked as the director of regional engagement.

Bibb also hired Elise Hara Auvil as chief administrative officer. In that role, she will supervise the mayor’s staff and manage cabinet meetings.

An attorney, Hara Auvil most recently worked as human resources manager for the city of Westlake. She directed HR for Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald as the county transitioned from a commissioner-led to a unitary executive form of government.

“Throughout the campaign, we created a vision for Cleveland that came directly from stakeholder input,” Bibb said in the news release. “We simply have to reimagine our organizational structure to build our reimagined City. With leaders focused on the long-range vision, and on the immediate needs, we can achieve more.”

Bibb will take office as mayor Jan. 3. A new wave of COVID-19 cases led the mayor-elect’s transition team to scuttle plans for an in-person ceremony on Jan. 8 at Cleveland Public Auditorium. Instead, Bibb will live stream a virtual event.

Last week, Bibb announced his first round of top hires, including chief legal counsel and chief government affairs officer. Several other job openings are still posted on the transition’s website, among them finance director and chief operating officer.