Slowly but surely, Governor-elect Tom Wolf has been rolling out his selections for his executive staff and his nominees for cabinet positions. With just over a week until the inauguration, here’s what we know so far:
Executive Staff:
The governor’s executive staff is what those in political circles commonly refer to as “the front office.” These positions are closest to the governor and do not require confirmation by the Pennsylvania Senate.
Shortly after the election in November, Wolf announced that Katie McGinty would head up his operation as Chief of Staff. McGinty, Wolf’s political rival in the 2014 Democratic primary, once served as Secretary of Environmental Protection under former Governor Ed Rendell.
Also joining the Wolf Pack is John Hangar, who, like McGinty, contemplated a run for governor in 2014 and also served as the Secretary of Environmental Protection under Rendell. Hangar will be Wolf’s Secretary of Policy and Planning. Mary Isenhour, political strategist and adviser to the Wolf campaign, will be his Secretary of Legislative Affairs, and former Mayor Nutter staffer Obra Kernodle IV will serve as the Director of the Office of Public Liaison and a Deputy Chief of Staff.
Wolf announced his selection for another top spot on his executive staff just today: Denise Smyler will be the head of the governor’s legal shop, the Office of General Counsel. Smyler served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia and was the first woman to be counsel to the Philadelphia Police Department.
Remaining positions to be filled include Budget Secretary, Secretary of Administration, Director of Communications, Press Secretary and any number of Deputies Chief of Staff in addition to Kernodle.
Cabinet Nominations:
Wolf has also named a few of his selections to head up the administrative agencies under his jurisdiction. Cabinet secretaries will be chosen for each of these 20-plus agencies, and each of them will be subject to Senate confirmation.
So far, Wolf has announced that Dennis Davin has been nominated to oversee the Department of Community and Economic Development. Davin is current the director or Allegheny County Economic Development. Wolf has also nominated two veterans of state government to cabinet positions: Eileen McNulty and Pedro Cortes. McNulty, who served as Secretary of Revenue under Governor Casey, has been asked to return to that post. Similarly, Pedro Cortes, who served as Secretary of the Commonwealth, has been nominated to resume his post.
We expect that the remainder of the executive staff and cabinet nominees will be rolled out a few at a time over the next few weeks. Stay tuned to this blog or follow us on twitter @BuchananGov for the latest updates.