Chatham-Kent has named an interim chief administrative officer for the municipality.
CK Council has approved the appointment of Tony Haddad, who will replace retiring CAO Don Shropshire as of April 5.
“I have every confidence that Tony and Don will ensure there is a smooth transition, and that the community will be well-served while we fill the CAO’s position on a permanent basis,” said Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff, in a news release.
The municipality has retained recruitment firm Waterhouse to facilitate the hiring process for a permanent replacement for Shropshire. The process is expected to take around three months.
Haddad has a long history as a veteran administrator, serving as the CAO for the Town of Tecumseh from 2007 to 2019 and most recently as the interim CAO for the Town of Amherstburg. He has also worked as a senior advisor with Strategy Corp, a public affairs, communications, and management consulting advisory firm.
The search for a new CAO was prompted after the municipality announced on March 17 that Thomas Kelly, who had been named CAO back on November 15, 2021, was no longer a Chatham-Kent employee.
Kelly was employed as Chatham-Kent’s general manager of infrastructure and engineering at the time.
While the municipality declined to elaborate on the circumstances of Kelly’s departure, CKXS News reported the week prior that he had been the subject of a Ministry of Labour investigation after a harassment complaint was filed against him on November 22, 2021.