Bredesen to create new chief of staff position in his office

State News

November 9, 2006

Anonymous The Crossville Chronicle Thu Nov 09, 2006, 08:26 PM CST

NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen plans to hire a chief of staff for his office in an effort to "tighten" operations there in his second term.

Bredesen, a Democrat who was re-elected in a landslide on Tuesday, said the new position will be responsible for overseeing the governor's staff and for communicating with the Cabinet.

"I don't have a specific individual in mind," Bredesen said Thursday. "But somebody who was a chief-of-staff kind of person could really help with the operation of my office and tighten some things up."

Bredesen did not identify any specific examples of areas where the organization might have been lax over his first four years.

The chief of staff position will serve along with the existing deputy governor, Bredesen said. Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley has not said whether he will stay on for the second term.

Cooley, who was told by Bredesen in late 2004 to stay out of Tennessee Highway Patrol affairs after a lieutenant fixed a speeding ticket for him, said Thursday that he has not made up his mind about whether he will stay in the administration.

"I'd love to have him stay," Bredesen said. "But I also understand that four years is a long time in that job that has to be the most hot-seat job in government."

The deputy governor is appointed by the governor and is not in the line of succession.

Bredesen said he will not do a wide job search for the new chief of staff.

"For a position like that, it's going to be somebody I know," he said. "That's not going to be somebody you bring in from totally outside."

The governor is also looking for an in-house legal adviser after Bob Cooper was named attorney general. But having his former aide as the state's top attorney has its advantages, Bredesen said.

"The dynamic changes a little bit with Bob Cooper as attorney general, since obviously I've known and worked with him so closely," Bredesen said. "I probably would lean a little more on the attorney general's office in some of these things than I did before."

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