Outgoing Columbia rep., MU grads to join Nixon staff
Outgoing state Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, who lost a bid for attorney general in this past election, will join the cabinet of Gov.-elect Jay Nixon.
Nixon's transition office announced on Monday that the former House minority leader will serve as a policy director for the new governor after he takes office.
Before Harris was elected to the 23rd House District in 2002, he was an assistant attorney general under Nixon in 2000. Harris earned his bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in 1987, and his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1991. In 1995, Harris completed a senior executive program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Nixon's announced several other appointments to the cabinet on Monday and Tuesday.
John Watson, who has served as Nixon's chief of staff in the attorney general's office since 1997, will keep his title in the new office.
Besides Harris, there were two other Columbia residents appointed to the office: Dustin Allison, who will serve as the deputy chief of staff, and Jack Cardetti, who began his career in Nixon's office as a press secretary and played the same role under former Gov. Bob Holden. Cardetti has been the primary media contact for the Missouri Democratic Party since 2004, and has a degree in political science from MU, which he earned in 2000.
Other appointees that can call MU their alma mater include Mary Nelson, the new director of Boards and Commissions, who received her juris doctorate from MU in 1980' Mayme Miller, who will serve as the director of Constituent Service, and also picked up her juris doctorate from the MU School of Law in 2000; and Nicole Loethen, who earned both her bachelor's and law degrees from MU in 1994 and 1997, respectively, and will serve as the office's deputy counsel.
On Tuesday, the transition office annouced that yet another MU graduate, Linda Martinez, who earned a bachelor's degree from MU in 1976, will head the Department of Economic Development. Martinez has served as legal counsel to several business in and around St. Louis.
In a release, the transition office stated that Martinez would be working closely to implement Nixon's economic plan, Show Me JOBS, which aims to give tax credits to businesses in the state.
“After years of working closely with businesses of all sizes, Linda Martinez understands the challenges entrepreneurs face, and she is ready to lead the fight to keep and create jobs here in Missouri," Nixon said in the release. "With her extensive experience in tax credits, bonds and financial strategy, Linda knows the economic-development system inside and out. "
In the release, Martinez threw her support behind Nixon's economic plan.
“As the national economic crisis continues, we must take bold steps to create and retain good-paying jobs here in Missouri and make sure our workers are ready to take on the jobs of tomorrow,” she said.