Oregon insiders: Who’s who in and around state government
Published 4:42 pm Thursday, March 24, 2022
- OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER - Carpet in the Oregon governor's ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem
• Andrew Fromm departed as communications director for the Oregon House Republicans after the 2022 legislative session adjourned this month. He took a job in the private sector. Caucus Chief of Staff Mark Cruz will be advertising the press secretary position in the coming weeks.
• Wendy Cornelisen has begun work, remotely at first, as Oregon’s new state librarian. She previously was assistant state librarian in Georgia after starting her career in Tennessee. Nancy Hoover had come out of retirement to serve as Oregon’s acting state librarian following Jennifer Patterson’s departure last June.
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• Marion Suitor Barnes left her role at Western Oregon University to become communications and outreach director at the Education Department’s Early Learning Division, which next year becomes an independent agency – the state Department of Early Learning and Care.
• Ben Morris moved from SEIU 503, Oregon’s largest labor union, to become communications director for Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. This year’s SOS communications program will focus on combating false information during the 2022 elections and supporting the Audits Division’s release of 13 planned performance audits. Carla Axtman, who held the communications role during Fagan’s first year in office, became managing editor of the Oregon Blue Book.
• At the Oregon Department of Transportation, Chief Engineer Steve Cooley is retiring at the end of the month. Mike Kimlinger, Traffic/Roadway Section manager, will serve as interim chief engineer starting April 1. Maintenance & Operations Engineer Luci Moore is winding down her hours over the next few months as she heads into retirement. Galen McGill, System Operations and Intelligent Traffic Services Section manager, will serve as interim maintenance & operations engineer starting April 15.
If you have an update on who’s coming or going – or taking on a new assignment – in state government or organizations involved with it, email Dick Hughes at thehughesisms@gmail.com.
