As an inveterate biker and walker, Weymouth mayor-elect Robert Hedlund has a thing about the thin metal poles that mark the town’s fire hydrants.

“They’re twisted and sticking into the sidewalks, and they look awful,’’ he said in a recent interview. “As mayor, I want to see them all straight. They shouldn’t impede someone going down the sidewalk, and they should look nice.’’

Hedlund sighed and wondered aloud whether he’d get a reputation as “an urban mechanic.’’ But little things are important, he said, and Weymouth needs to work on improving its aesthetics.

Add that to a long list of tasks that the erstwhile state senator faces when he is sworn into office on Monday, Jan. 4 — the same date his resignation from the Senate takes effect. As a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic Senate, he’s looking forward to being in a position as an executive in a strong-mayor system to carry out his goals.

Among his immediate priorities are organizing his staff — unlike outgoing Mayor Sue Kay, he’ll hire a chief of staff — and filling impending and current vacancies in key municipal positions such as planning director and chief financial officer.

Hedlund’s familiarizing himself with the financial details of town government so he can prepare a budget for the next fiscal year. And he’s working on economic revitalization issues, such as how to help the developers of SouthField at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station get water and sewer in a way that most benefits the town as a whole.

He also plans to act as an ambassador for the town, working to find businesses to locate in Weymouth. Hedlund is part owner of a restaurant in Weymouth Landing and, as a beer enthusiast, he’s excited that a small brewery, Barrel House Z, plans to open in Weymouth near the Hingham line.

Also on the to-do list: finding creative ways to pay for improvements to town parks and squares, and getting more money to the schools. And he’ll be looking carefully at a financial management review of Weymouth’s town government that he requested from the state.

A longtime Weymouth resident who grew up in Hingham and has a 5-year-old son, Hedlund has been thinking about being mayor of Weymouth, off and on, for more than 15 years.

He ran for the position in 1999 when the town switched to a town council-mayor form of government, losing by about 1,600 votes in the final election to former fire chief David Madden, who served two terms.

Hedlund didn’t run in 2007, when Kay was elected with 62 percent of the vote, nor in 2011 when she won again. But he said he kept thinking about the job, especially since his legislative aide Patrick O’Connor became president of the Weymouth Town Council.

“I saw the issues they were working on and thought I could be effective’’ dealing with them, said Hedlund, who was in the Senate for 23 years. “Having not just worked for municipal government in one town, but working with eight towns, I had a broader perspective.’’

In hindsight, Hedlund said it’s probably good that he didn’t become mayor on his first try, as he gained experience and enjoyed his work in the Legislature, where he is assistant minority leader. He prides himself on never voting for a state tax increase, although he, and Kay, supported a Proposition 2½ override in Weymouth that would have raised local property taxes.

Hedlund said he decided to run for mayor this year because it would be more challenging than staying in the Senate. And, he added, “I hate the cliché when you hear politicians say, ‘People urged me to run.’ But people were encouraging.’’

He defeated Kay decisively — getting 70 percent of the vote and winning every precinct in the November election.

Asked how he will differ from his predecessors, Hedlund laughed. “That remains to be seen,’’ he said. “After my time is done, we can make that contrast.’’

Several people have expressed interest in running for Hedlund’s Plymouth and Norfolk Senate seat, which represents the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate, and Weymouth.

Hedlund said he’s backing O’Connor, a Republican who has announced he’s running for the seat that expires in 2017.

Also running is Paul Gannon, a Democrat and Hingham selectman who was a state representative from South Boston from 1990 to 1994.

Duxbury attorney Brian Cook, who has an office in Hingham and is originally from Weymouth, has said he plans to run as an Independent.

State Representative James Murphy, a Democrat from Weymouth, has said he is considering a run. Others have said state Representative Thomas Calter of Kingston, a Democrat who has a summer home in Hull, also might be interested in running.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.