West Hartford Picks Ledwith As New Town Manager

WEST HARTFORD, CT — For West Hartford Deputy Mayor Liam Sweeney, he learned all he needed to know about Rick Ledwith during an incident earlier this year.

Appointed "acting" town manager over the winter, Ledwith was notified by Sweeney of some offensive graffiti at the old University of Connecticut site in town.

It was a Sunday and Ledwith was looking for someone in the public works department to deal with it. Ultimately, Sweeney said Ledwith took care of the problem himself, covering up the graffiti with tape so no one could see the offending vandalism.

"That, to me, was an eye opener of what we were getting with Rick," Sweeney, a Democrat, said at Tuesday night's West Hartford Town Council meeting, when Ledwith was officially hired to become West Hartford's top appointed official.

In a bipartisan, unanimous vote, the council eliminated the "acting" from Ledwith's title. He's the new town manager.

Ledwith replaces former manager Matthew W. Hart, who left in February to become executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments.

Prior to his new role, Ledwith was the town’s executive director of human resources.

During Tuesday night's council meeting municipal leaders piled on the praise for the longtime, West Hartford resident and employee.

It was not lost on Ledwith.

"I'm very honored and humbled by your comments and certainly your trust in me to serve as town manager," Ledwith said just prior to his first "town manager report" without the "acting" title.

No details of Ledwith's contract or salary were yet available Wednesday morning, but according to we-ha.com, Ledwith's salary is $172,500.

For both Democrats and Republicans on the council, the salary is money well spent.

“The town council has been incredibly impressed with Rick’s performance during this trial period,” said West Hartford Mayor Shari G. Cantor in a statement released by the town.

“Rick has the confidence of the town council, town staff and also external stakeholders and community leaders. He is a confident and thoughtful leader who clearly loves West Hartford and I am grateful to him for agreeing to take on this responsibility.”

“Rick Ledwith, who has been acting town manager, has done a solid job getting us through the budget process and led the staff through many initiatives in a positive way,” added Republican Mary Fay, minority leader of the West Hartford Town Council.

“His many years as HR director has prepared him to assume the role as our new town manager. I’m pleased to offer Rick this role and to continue to work with him to move West Hartford forward.”

Ledwith has worked for the Town of West Hartford since 2001 in several capacities.

Prior to his appointment as acting manager, Ledwith was executive director of human resources for 15 years, where he worked extensively with every municipal department as well as the West Hartford Public Schools.

Ledwith and his wife, Tara, have lived in West Hartford for 25 years and have raised three children in town, all of whom are now adults.

“I am humbled that the town council has given me this opportunity,” said Ledwith. “I truly love this community and I look forward to this new challenge.”

To watch the full West Hartford Town Council meeting, visit this link.