New Haven Independent

Che Comes Inside

by Paul Bass | December 12, 2006 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The progressive shake-up of City Hall continued, as Mayor John DeStefano appointed former LEAP director Che Dawson (pictured) deputy chief of staff to replace Pierrette Silverman. Dawson, who’s 32 and grew up in Church Street South, currently co-chairs the Mayor’s Youth Initiative; he said he hopes to focus on youth policy when he starts his job on Jan. 1. What made him decide it was safe to work from the inside? In part, seeing DeSetefano appoint Kica Matos his social-services chief. “I respect and admire her a lot. Her taking the job made me think more about it,” Dawson said.