Although Drew Willison took the helm as Newton’s new City Clerk at a critical time, just ahead of the November 4 election, he’s no stranger to shouldering important responsibilities.
Willison “was in the swirl of all of it,” the 60-year-old recalled, when he served as the 39th Sergeant at Arms for the U.S. Senate (and before that, the deputy). As deputy Sergeant at Arms, he sat on the inaugural platform for President Barack Obama.
Among other duties, the Sergeant at Arms “serves the Senate as its chief law enforcement and protocol officer and is the executive officer responsible for a host of support services in the Senate,” according to the U.S. Senate’s website.
“It was an amazing experience,” recalled Willison, an Ohio native. He also worked in nonprofit administration and public policy and has an impressive educational background.
Even before taking on his important D.C. roles, Willison said he had been interested in government work most of his life — although not the often-divisive politics that come along with those jobs. That is why he enjoyed working as Sergeant-at-Arms, a nonpartisan position that serves the institution of the Senate, much like a City Clerk serves a municipality.
Willison only applied for the Newton job after he and his wife, Kris Sarri, moved to Swampscott a few months ago from the D.C. area. Having never lived in Massachusetts before, the couple and their six rescue pets (three cats and three dogs) came north after Sarri was hired as the new Massachusetts state director for The Nature Conservancy.
Moving to a new place with no family connections can be daunting, but Willison said he and his wife are treating the change as an adventure.
“We’re having fun with it,” he said.
Keeping Newton running
As Willison began looking for work after the move, he spotted the opening in Newton.
The state describes a city or town clerk as a “central information point for residents … who is the municipality’s record keeper and often the chief election officer.”
“It’s a critical role,” said Willison, adding the variety of responsibilities attracted him to the position. “It’s a fascinating mix of things.”
As he worked on his first municipal election this month, he emphasized that “it’s so important to get it right and be transparent.”
In addition to running elections, the city clerk, “keeps our vital statistics, provides licenses (including those for our dogs), oversees city archives, and supports the work of the City Council,” as Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said in her newsletter.
During his recent victory speech, Mayor-elect Marc Laredo said City government should be more “customer-focused” and prompt. Willison said he would strive to meet those goals.
“I take customer service extremely seriously,” Willison said. Noting that residents pay City workers’ salaries, he said that he did not want a trip to City Hall to be an unpleasant experience and that he aims to be sure “that people are completely heard.”
Another responsibility is to ensure that the minutes from each board and commission meeting are posted. Some official City groups are far behind in putting those records online to make them available to the public.
“My goal is to look for tools that will make [the minutes] much easier to post and find,” said Willison. He noted that although town and city websites can be works in progress, “there is room for improvement. … It’s a priority.”
Still learning more about his new work home in Newton, Willison said he’s eager to try out the varied eateries around the city and is keeping a list of suggestions.
“I’m really taken with the community,” he said, especially the fact that there are 13 villages.
“D.C. can be a very impersonal place — the sense of community here [in Newton], you can really feel it,” he said.
