6 The Queens Courier • DECEMBER 5, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Borough President-elect Melinda Katz THE COURIER/File photos Leroy Comrie KATZ PICKS HER TEAM FORMER CONTENDER COMRIE NAMED DEPUTY BP BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] Borough President-elect Melinda Katz has tapped a former primary election foe to be her right-hand man. Katz named outgoing Councilmember Leroy Comrie as deputy borough president and Jay Bond, a former longtime aide, as chief of staff on December 3. “From the beginning, this campaign was about empowering working families and making life better for every Queens resident,” Katz said in a statement. “Jay’s years of experience in the public and private sectors and Leroy’s long history of leadership in Queens will be essential as we build the most open, inclusive and transparent transition in Queens history.” Bond served 10 years with Katz as her senior policy advisor in the City Council. Comrie ran against Katz this year in the crowded race for Borough Hall, but dropped his bid in July “due to personal matters.” The southeast Queens representative was locked in a heated Democratic primary battle with Katz, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and State Senator Tony Avella, who also later exited. “He’s a good man, and Queens is lucky to have him,” Vallone told The Courier. Avella declined to comment. Comrie, first elected in 2002, was serving his final term in the City Council this year due to term limits. He was rumored to exit the race late in May, when the Queens County Democratic Party and several leaders in Comrie’s district, including the Reverend Floyd Flake, endorsed Katz. “Now more than ever, Queens needs Melinda’s vision for a more prosperous and equitable borough,” Comrie said upon appointment. “Over the 20 years I’ve spent working with her, Melinda has proven herself a tireless and honest public servant with a real plan to move our borough forward,” he continued. “That’s why I’m thrilled to assist her administration and work tirelessly over the coming weeks to ensure Queens residents are represented by the best possible team in Borough Hall.” freshmen class of legislators EXCLUSIVE THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan Incoming Councilmember Paul Vallone, who named his seven-member staff, will say goodbye to his family’s Flushing law firm. GO WITH WHO YOU KNOW Vallone names 7-member staff BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] Councilmember-elect Paul Vallone has picked the team he’ll take to City Hall in January, The Courier has learned. The seven-member staff consists mostly of longtime supporters and includes two former employees of Queens elected officials and the aunt of a local assemblymember. “These are people who believed in me five years ago, when I first started,” Vallone said during an interview at his family’s Flushing law firm. “They’ve been with me since day one. They’ve grown with me, bled with me, laughed with me. They did everything with me. I trust them.” The incoming lawmaker appointed Jonathan Szott as his chief of staff, snatching the top aide from his term-limited brother, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. He is also taking Michael Yon from his part-time gig at Assemblymember Ron Kim’s office to work constituent services and community outreach in the Korean communities. Both workers received blessings from their former bosses before the switch. “For me, it was easy to decide, even though it’s really not a lot of time,” Vallone said. “It’s really only been a month since the election. It was probably harder to cut down the list.” The hires were finalized last week, the freshman legislator said. They include Communications Director Lionel Morales, Director of Constituent Services/Treasurer Vito Tautonico and part-timers Breeana Mulligan and Ahmed Nazar. Kate Boehme, the aunt of Assemblymember Ed Braunstein, will also help part-time in the communications department. Boehme and other members of Braunstein’s family helped a lot with campaigning, Vallone said. “They were with me this summer from beginning to end. She’ll be a big asset,” he said. There may also be room to add one or two more positions, including legislative director, Vallone said. Also up in the air is where the incoming councilmember will work. The Flushing branch of the family’s law firm at 25-59 Francis Lewis Boulevard will close after five years, as Vallone prepares to transition into a full-time elected official. High hopes of transforming the office into his City Council headquarters may be dashed since the bathroom is not yet wheelchair accessible. “It’s going to be hard parting with this place,” said Vallone. “My wife and I did everything here. I mean everything, from kids’ homework to the Clinton Democratic Club to both campaigns.” Vallone starts his new job January 1. He will be officially sworn into the City Council January 8 and will have a local inauguration January 5. But work has already begun, Vallone said, and calls have been pouring in from constituents in need. The lawmaker-to-be said he has already gotten commitments from the city’s School Construction Authority officials, saying they will move away from building a school in Whitestone. And while it is too late to change plans for a Bayside school at the former Keil Bros. site — something Vallone said he opposed, despite other claims — the city pledged to keep the school zoned for School District 26 only, Vallone said. “It’s still an unfortunate location, but that’s a major victory,” he said. Vallone replaces Republican Councilmember Dan Halloran, who was indicted on corruption charges earlier this year. de Blasio debuts key appointees BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced the first appointees to his staff, naming Anthony Shorris as First Deputy Mayor. “I don’t think I know anyone who has this range of experience and achievement, and who will be able to work with all elements of the government seamlessly because he has done such an extraordinary range of work,” de Blasio said at the announcement on Wednesday, December 4. Shorris is a “veteran of public service,” with experience as Finance Commissioner, Deputy Chancellor for Operations at the Department of Education, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and senior vice president, vice dean and chief of staff at New York University Langone Medical Center. De Blasio additionally credited him with being a “central architect” of former mayor Ed Koch’s administration’s affordable housing program. “This is a guy who does not need any warm up,” de Blasio said. “I am absolutely confident in his ability to deliver on the core agenda that I’ve developed.” Shorris reiterated de Blasio’s vision of universal pre-K, addressing the affordability crisis, income equality, lifting wages and police reform. “It’s a pivotal moment in New York,” he said. “This is a moment of opportunity.” The mayor-to-be also named Dominic Williams, formerly chief of staff in the Public Advocate’s office, as Shorris’ chief of staff and Emma Wolfe, de Blasio campaign manager and political director, as the director of intergovernmental affairs. s
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