New London Mayor Michael Passero, for his opening act in office, has brought back enough former city government staffers that one person who knows City Hall well joked it's beginning to look like the last four years, the reign of Daryl Finizio, never happened.

One new face in City Hall, though, is the guy now in charge of everyone — after the mayor, that is.

Passero, who made the competence of Finizio appointees a campaign issue, has made an interesting choice for his most important hire, the chief administrative officer, choosing someone with a broad management background, although no city government management experience.

Steven Fields, who retired in 2011 as lieutenant colonel of state police, the second-highest ranking officer on the force, has been named interim CAO of the city.

Passero has also announced that a search for a permanent CAO has begun.

When I caught up with Fields last week, day four on the job, he bobbed and weaved a bit on the question of whether he intends to apply for the permanent job.

He did say that he will stay as long as the mayor needs or wants him to.

At first, Fields seems like an odd permanent choice for CAO, since the mayor suggested in his campaign that he was going to hire the kind of experienced city manager the city had before changing to a full-time mayor form of government.

And yet, managing a small city government like New London should be a breeze for someone experienced in managing a sprawling major state government police force.

After all, two of the most important responsibilities of government, Fields told me, are public safety and tending quality of life.

Indeed, Fields turned up early Friday morning at the scene of a police investigation into a shooting death. He said it's his job to turn up at any major event in the city, to make sure people have the resources they need.

He said he believes the bedrock of economic development is establishing a reputation for the city of quality services, plowing the streets well and picking up the trash on time.

The interim CAO also bobbed and weaved a bit when I brought up the topic of the police chief, who was put on extended leave by the last mayor, who wanted to fire her, and who is suing the city over a botched severance deal.

Fields did say no major personnel changes are planned.

"Anyone who is currently working here has more than a fair opportunity to keep working, if that is their decision," he said in response to the chief of police question.

After retiring from state police after a 28-year career with the force, Fields has done some public speaking work. His principal topic is leadership.

He has also been regularly working as a substitute teacher in New London schools, a career change he says he has thoroughly enjoyed.

Fields, who is 55 and black, never married. His late father was the chief of police in Jewett City and, formerly a resident of Groton, he returned to live in Griswold when his mother was ill.

She has since passed away, and he says he will probably move to New London, where he says he has always spent a lot of time.

At his first meeting of department heads, Fields told city management that he expects them to cooperate with each other, as a team, and to work creatively to live within the city's tight budget.

One of his principal management lessons, he says, is that most people are boss watchers, meaning they take cues from the boss on how they should do their jobs.

He also preaches the importance of risk management and foreseeing problems before they unfold.

"If you can predict a problem, you can prevent a problem," he said.

He will have an open-door policy for all city workers, he said, but he also plans to be out of the office as much as possible, to meet residents and employees on their own turf.

I am sure it was my imagination, but it seemed like there were more smiles in City Hall last week, like maybe the last four years never happened.

Could it be that the boss watchers like what they see?

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter:@DavidCollinsct