Peter Kelly, former mayor of Halifax, to become Charlottetown CAO

It's official:Former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly will bethe new chief administrative officer for Charlottetown, after spending the past two yearsworking as the CAO for amunicipalityin northern Alberta.

City council voted at a public meeting Tuesdayto appoint Kelly as ofMay1.

"Peter brings with him years of experience as being a councillor in the Town of Bedford, he was a councillor in the City of Halifax, the longest-serving mayor in the City of Halifax, and a Chief Administrative Officer in Alberta," Mayor Clifford Lee said.

"So I think Peter brings lots of experience and a new focus to the city corporation."

57 applications were reviewed and "we have chosen the best candidate for the job," Lee said.

The salary range for the CAO position is between $112,858 and $134,355.

'Did he make mistakes? Probably'

Kelly served as mayor of Halifax from 2000 until 2012. During that time hechampioned the cleanup of Halifax harbour,delivered an apology to the people of Africville and helped thecity host the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

He also faced controversy just prior to leaving public office.

The controversies includedtheHalifax Commonconcert scandal in which a promoter was advanced $400,000 without the knowledge of Halifax council, as well as criticism over how he handledhisrole as executor of the estate of a Bedford woman.

"I think he did a fantastic job for the citizens of Halifax," Lee told reporters gathered after Tuesday'sannouncement,

"The criticism of Mr. Kelly was really from the media in Halifax .. you can't hire someone or not hire someone based on the fact that some members of the media may not have liked the candidate," said Lee.

"Did he make any mistakes? Probably. There's not one of us in public life today that can say we've never made a mistake in making something happen or not making something happen."

Kelly has called the controversies learning experiences.

"You just take the lessons learned, you move forward, and you put your best foot forward and you do a great job," Kelly told CBC News: Compass in an interview Tuesday.

His focus now, he said,is dealing with Charlottetown's infrastructure and deficit.

"I want to work with council to make sure we make the quality of life better, and that takes a strong team and I want to be part of that strong team."

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Conducted council pay review

In an interview with CBC News in November, Kelly said hiscontract as chief administrative officer of Westlock, Alta., was set to end inFebruary and he planned to come back tothe east coast at that time.

Westlock County ReeveBud Massey saidhe wassad to see Kelly go.

"It's a tremendous loss for us and our citizens," said Massey,"However, we arenever one to stand in the way of somebody who has something else on their agenda."

In spite of the controversy that clouded the end of his time in office, some in Halifax have said they would like to see him enter politics again, though Kelly has said he is not interested.

Prior to taking the job in Alberta, Kellyworked briefly in pest control.

Last year he also conducted anon-tendered independent review ofCharlottetowncouncillors' pay, giving them a bump in salary.

"I was a consultant at the time. I have done many consultant jobs," Kelly said, adding that there is no conflict of interest "as long as you have the facts before you."

Clifford Lee also pointed out that Kelly did the pay review for the city months prior to the CAO position coming open in Charlottetown. "One has nothing to do with the other ... for me to stand here today and go back to that bit of work and compare it to this process, they're not related," said Lee.

The biography section of the 26-pagereview doesn't mention Kelly's time as mayor of Halifax, but does highlight his more than 30 years of "senior management and consultant experience," plus work on many boards and committees which hasleft "lasting legacies during his public and private sector work."

Kelly told CBC News at the timethatwhile his biographymade no mention of his time as an elected official, it points out that he has extensive experience in municipal government.

Current Chief Administrative Officer Donna Waddell is retiring after 29 yearswith the City of Charlottetown.

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