ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo is shuffling his inner circle heading into the new year by elevating his communications director to chief of staff and raiding the state Senate Republicans for a new budget director, the Daily News has learned.
Melissa DeRosa, who has served as Cuomo’s communications director since 2013, has been promoted to chief of staff, a source close to the administration said.
DeRosa, whose title has also included strategic adviser, has been one of Cuomo’s closest aides, and of late has been a point person with the de Blasio administration and lead negotiator on the recent MTA capital plan agreement with the city. Before joining Cuomo, she served as Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s acting chief of staff.
Meanwhile, Cuomo has hired the well-regarded Senate GOP Chief of Staff Robert Mujica as his new budget director, the source said. Mujica, who also served as secretary to the Senate Finance Committee, has been with the Senate for 19 years and been a top aide to three leaders.
Mujica, who will start in early January, has had a close relationship with Cuomo, having been the lead negotiator for the Senate on the state budget and key policy issues. He was rumored last year to be heading to the Cuomo administration, but ended up staying put after the GOP maintained control of the Senate.
Mujica’s name came up during the recent federal corruption trial of former Senate Majority Dean Skelos, but there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing and he was not called to testify. He’ll replace Cuomo budget director Mary Beth Labate who’s joining SUNY as a senior level policy and program adviser on the Chancellor’s Executive Committee.
New Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan praised Mujica’s professionalism and integrity, calling his contributions “extraordinary and numerous.”
Mujica’s deputy, Michael Paoli, a 27-year Senate veteran, will be elevated to Secretary of the Senate Finance Committee to ensure “a smooth and orderly transition,” Flanagan said.
DeRosa will be replaced as communications director by James Allen, who once served as then-Newark Mayor Corey Booker’s chief spokesman and most recently has been vice president of communications and strategy at Mic, a media company that focuses on millennials.
Allen has also worked on a number of political campaigns, including President Obama’s 2008 run.
In another move, Jill DesRosiers, former director of scheduling, is being promoted to deputy secretary of executive operations. In her new role, DesRosiers, who used to be a top aide to former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and spent 12 years working for the City Council, will oversee Cuomo’s offices of intergovernmental affairs, scheduling, and operations, and constituency affairs.
And Jason Elan, the press secretary for Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, will shift over to Cuomo’s staff as deputy communications director for public safety, sources say. He will be replaced in Hochul’s office by Chris White, who had been a spokesman for the state Department of Labor.