Erie mayor unveils 50-page transition report, names Jason Chek as solicitor

Mayor Daria Devlin on Wednesday unveiled a 50-page transition report prepared by a volunteer transition team and introduced attorney Jason Chek as the city’s new solicitor.

"This was an incredible amount of work," Devlin said, thanking volunteers and staff. The report, compiled by consultants at Our Plan, is posted on the city website and available in limited hard copies at the event. "It is posted on our website," Devlin said.

Janessa Norton, a member of the transition team, told attendees the group was "tasked with reviewing a significant amount of information and helping to prepare Mayor Devlin's administration for office." The team conducted department interviews, roundtables, surveys and a community meeting at the Booker T. Washington Center on Jan. 10 to collect resident input, Norton said.

The report organizes recommendations across five core issue areas that Norton described as shaping daily life in Erie: housing and neighborhood development; youth and investment in young people; workforce and economic development; budget and financial sustainability; and leadership, culture and service delivery at City Hall. Each section contains short-, mid- and long-term recommendations intended to guide immediate action and longer-term planning, Norton said.

Devlin said the administration has already begun implementing some recommendations and will next "distill the transition team recommendations into these measurable short term, midterm, and long term goals." City departments will meet at a day-long retreat hosted by Gannon University on Feb. 6 to develop action plans tied to those goals, she said.

At the event Devlin introduced Jason Chek as the city’s solicitor. "I'm proud today to officially introduce our new solicitor, attorney Jason Chek," she said, noting Chek previously served as deputy solicitor. The announcement in the transcript was presented as an executive appointment; no council vote or formal confirmation is recorded in the event transcript.

Devlin also thanked Amy Murdock and her team at Our Plan for compiling the document. She characterized the report as a starting point that reflects community voices and said the administration would honor the team's work "with our action."

The mayor invited press questions after the program and reminded attendees to consult the posted report for details and recommendations. The administration plans to use the report to guide its first-year priorities and to translate recommendations into department-level goals during the upcoming staff retreat.