C.S-D., J.M.
A.C.
A new City Hall spokesperson will arrive this coming spring — the 10th person to take the job since John DeStefano became mayor.
Or is it the 11th?
It depends on whether you count someone twice who left the job, then returned.
It depends if “acting” mayoral spokesman counts in the tally.
And most of all — who knows? Ten’s the best number we could come up with.
Truth is, we’ve lost count.
When she leaves office this spring (because her family is relocating to Maryland, where her husband has a new hospital gig), the mayor’s current spokeswoman will have served approximately four years, making her the second longest-serving top DeStefano Administration press aide.
M.K.
In his 17 years in office, DeStefano has seen official spokespeople come and go like rush-hour commuters at Grand Central (or Spinal Tap drummers, although, thankfully, none have been known to explode).
DeStefano’s mentor, Mayor Biagio DiLieto, served in office for 10 years — and had one press spokesperson (baritone former WELI reporter Bill O’Sullivan).
What explains the second-floor turnstile effect at City Hall? A demanding schedule? Coincidence? The short-term nature of modern employment?
That question may be better left to pundits or bloggers.
J.F.
The more pressing question for the historical record is: Who are all these people?
Following is a list of the ones we can remember — by initials, with some hints; not necessarily in the right order. (Not included: campaign-only press aides like Elizabeth Bodine.)
See how many you can remember, and who might be missing. And post the full names in the comments section below.
• C. S‑D. *
• A. C.
• M. K. *
• S. C.
• R. L. **
• S. E. [Initials fixed; initially reported incorrectly as S. K.]
• J. F. ***
• D. S. *
• C. S‑D. ****
• A. J. *****
• J. M.
* Former reporter
** Future state legislator
*** Now working for some other former gubernatorial candidate (in Hartford)
**** Return engagement
***** Served in “acting” capacity while official spokesperson was on maternity leave
Paul Bass File Photo
D.S., C.S-D.
R.L. is Roland Lemar--D.S. is Derek Slap--and of course J.M. is Jessica Mayorga.
The position under our current mayor seems to me to be essentially a "right hand man" type of job, involving long grueling hours and never-ending work being dumped on the person doing it. It is amazing that he can find someone willing to do it for 2 weeks let alone 2 years.