By CHRIS YAKAITIS, Capital News Service
BALTIMORE - Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov.-elect Anthony Brown continued to flesh out their administration Tuesday, announcing a handful of key appointees in advance of the Jan. 17 inauguration.
O'Malley named Jeanne D. Hitchcock as his secretary of appointments, the first cabinet-level position filled since he named Michael R. Enright his chief of staff three weeks ago. He also said he was bringing back a senior aide from the last Democratic administration, Joseph C. Bryce, to be senior policy and legislative advisor.
Meanwhile, Brown tapped Gerard "Jerry" Boden, a longtime friend and former U.S. Army officer, as his chief of staff. Boden most recently worked as director of operations for Greater Maryland Dental Partners, a Clarksville-based trade group with five member dental practices.
Brown also named Earl Adams Jr., a Largo-based business lawyer, as his deputy chief of staff. Dawn Flythe, a deputy campaign manager from O'Malley's gubernatorial campaign, was named Brown's director of intergovernmental affairs. She previously worked for B&W Solutions Inc., a D.C.-area consulting firm.
Hitchcock, a deputy mayor for intergovernmental relations in Baltimore, said she was honored and humbled by the opportunity to continue working with O'Malley in Annapolis.
"I wanted to participate and give service at this level of government," she said. "It's giving a service, and that's what my parents raised me to do and gave me a good appreciation for."
Hitchcock will assume a position that is often known as the governor's patronage secretary, because so many gubernatorial appointments and political jobs are funneled through that office.
The post generated considerable controversy in the administration of out-going Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, whose administration was accused of orchestrating a plan to force Democrats out of their jobs and replace them with Republicans. The firings prompted a long and politically-contentious review by the General Assembly.
Hitchcock said she couldn't comment about the upcoming degree of turnover in state government as the new administration takes over until she's had an opportunity to review the various departments under O'Malley's purview. "I don't have any anticipation of what the quantity of anything will be at this point," she said.
A native of Northwest Baltimore and 1964 graduate of Eastern High School, Hitchcock is the second member of O'Malley's Baltimore staff officially tapped to leave City Hall for the State House.
Bryce, associate vice chancellor for government relations at the University System of Maryland, previously served as chief legislative officer in Gov. Parris N. Glendening's administration.
On Friday, the O'Malley-Brown transition team announced 20 "workgroups" that will advise the incoming administration on areas such as education, business and economic development, transportation, energy and veterans affairs. The workgroup chairs and co-chairs were generally drawn from transition team members announced last month.
"The work of the transition workgroups and co-chairs will lay the foundation for key reforms to state government during the O'Malley-Brown administration," Brown said in a statement last week.
The O'Malley-Brown transition team is continuing to accept applications for state office at MarylandTransition.com, a Web site set up by the team in November.