Kennedy appoints associate DPW head

LYNN – Longtime city worker Larry Donahue has been appointed by Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy as associate commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW).The City Council is expected to vote on the appointment today.Donahue, who has been a member of the department for 37 years and assistant superintendent of streets since 1995, will fill the post vacated by Claire Cavanagh.Cavanagh is the mayor’s chief of staff.”Larry has been a dedicated public servant for almost four decades and has the level of expertise and experience required to fill this important position,” Kennedy said in a statement released Monday.Donahue, 60, spent two years in the Army, including a year in Vietnam during the war. He earned several combat medals, including the Bronze Star.A lifelong Lynn resident, Donahue graduated from Lynn Trade in 1967. He was inducted into the Lynn Tech Hall of Fame in 1997.Donahue was involved with West Lynn American Little League for 16 years as a manager, field director and league president. He has also coached youth soccer and taught religious studies at Sacred Heart Church. He and his wife, Kathleen, have been married 38 years. They have two adult sons.Kennedy appointed Donahue on Sept. 24, effective immediately. The base salary for associate DPW commissioner is $80,218, according to the Personnel Department.If Donahue had a Master’s degree, the salary would be 25 percent higher.