Nansi Clark will begin her job as Mayor Paul Finley’s new executive assistant Monday, June 20.

Finley said there were multiple solid candidates who applied.

“I was so pleased to have a pool of those types of folks to choose from,” Finley said.

What set Clark apart, Finley explained, was that he has known her for a couple years. She’s also a resident of Madison.

“I think she has a good feel and flavor for the city on multiple levels,” Finley said.

He said anyone who knows her knows she gets things done and is very professional in how she accomplishes them.

“That whole piece put together gave me the good, solid confidence that she was the person who could fill that position and make a difference for the city,” Finley said.

Her job responsibilities will include acting as project manager for pieces that need to continue to be worked on, filling in for events the mayor is unable to attend and serving as a trusted ear that can help define what needs to be done, as well as other duties as assigned.

“I think Taylor (Edge) set a standard that was high,” Finley said. “And I fully expect Nansi to continue that.”

He said it might take a little while for her to learn about City Hall.

“And yet I think she’ll hit the ground running, and folks will quickly realize the strong asset that she’s going to be,” Finley said.

He said after two and a half years in office, he’s worked well with the City Council in defining their mission statement and accomplishing goals and objectives that have been set.

“We’ve accomplished what we’ve said we would do, but we need to do it bigger, better and stronger,” Finley said. “And I think her coming in is a great time to reset priorities, redefine areas that we want to focus on, spread out responsibility and then go out and make that happen.”

He said their goal is to improve the quality of life for residents of Madison.

“I fully expect her to be a strong part of the team that makes that happen,” Finley said.