Maria Comella
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| Maria Comella | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | Office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo | ||
| Role: | Former chief of staff | ||
| Location: | Albany, N.Y. | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | •George Washington University (B.A., international affairs, 2003) •New York University (M.A., health care policy, 2014) | ||
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Maria Comella is a Republican political advisor and a former chief of staff to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), a role she accepted in April 2017. In November 2017, Comella announced her upcoming resignation, effective in January 2018 following Gov. Cuomo's delivery of the State of the State address, in order to accept a position in the private sector.[1]
Prior to serving as Gov. Cuomo's chief of staff, Comella had worked with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) as a communications advisor. On August 2, 2016, she announced that she would support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump (R) for president.[2]
From 2009 to 2016, Comella worked for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in communications. She was a senior advisor for Christie's PAC and served as the chief messaging officer for Christie's 2016 presidential campaign.[3]
Career
Early career
While attending George Washington University, Maria Comella began her political career working as a director of operations for George Pataki's Friends of Pataki.[4][5] After graduating, Comella worked, for a short period, with Republican pollster David Winston and his firm, the Winston Group.[4]
Presidential campaign staffer
In 2004, Comella joined George W. Bush's campaign as the New Hampshire communications director.[6][7] She then moved to Iowa in 2006 to work as Iowian Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle's communications director.[7][6] This was followed in 2008, by Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign. Comella served as Giuliani's deputy director of communications.[8] After Giuliani's campaign disbanded, Comella went over to John McCain's campaign. She was a consultant for Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate.[7][4]
Chris Christie advisor
In 2009, Comella began attending NYU to earn a Master's in health care policy; that same year, Chris Christie asked her to join his New Jersey gubernatorial campaign. Having to divide her time, Comella accepted the position of communications director.[4][6][7] After Christie's election, Comella became his communications director and, in 2010, his deputy chief of staff for communications.[4][7]
Presidential election, 2016
Chris Christie presidential campaign, 2016
In June 2015, Maria Comella joined the Chris Christie's PAC Leadership Matters for America as a senior advisor.[7]
On June 30, 2015, Chris Christie announced his 2016 presidential campaign.[9][10] It was announced on July 3, 2015, that Comella would act as Christie's chief messaging officer, overseeing general communications and branding for Christie's presidential campaign.[11]
Christie ended his campaign in February 2016, and Comella did not return to work with Christie as part of his administration.[3]
Support for Hillary Clinton
On August 2, 2016, Comella announced that she would support Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign over that of Republican nominee Donald Trump. Speaking with CNN, she said, "I'm voting for Hillary Clinton in November, and I'm voting for her because I don't believe it's enough to say you aren't for Donald Trump. My mom and dad were Republicans, but they didn't always vote Republican. ... There are times when principle trumps [no pun intended] party and we have to be OK with acknowledging that."[2]
Andrew Cuomo staffer
In November 2016, Comella began working with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) as a consultant on policy and as a consultant for Cuomo's state of the state address.[12] In April 2017, she was promoted to Cuomo's chief of staff. At the time, Comella—a Republican—commented on working for a Democratic governor, saying, "Right now, it is important to be an active participant in our democratic process and political party matters less than the things we can accomplish when working together. At a time of turmoil in Washington, I believe the states can and will play an important role and Governor Cuomo has the ability to find common ground when it's needed and get things done."[13]
In November 2017, Comella announced her upcoming resignation, effective in January 2018 following Gov. Cuomo's delivery of the State of the State address, in order to accept a position in the private sector. She was succeeded by Linda Lacewell.[1]
Chief of staff
- See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff
In 2017, Ballotpedia identified Maria Comella as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda.
The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):[14]
- Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar;
- Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues;
- Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and
- Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public.
In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."[14]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Politico, "Comella to depart Cuomo administration; Lacewell will return," November 10, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Politico, "Former top Christie adviser backing Clinton over Trump," August 2, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NJ.com, "Aide who helped shape Christie's image not returning to N.J.," March 13, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Politico, "50 Politicos to Watch: Maria Comella," July 19, 2013
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Maria Comella," accessed June 30, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Office of the Governor of New Jersey, "Senior Staff," accessed June 30, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 North Jersey, "Christie communications deputy Maria Comella leaves to join PAC," June 11, 2015
- ↑ Boston Globe, "Giuliani continues his conservative shift Favors fewer rights for same-sex unions," August 13, 2007
- ↑ National Journal, "Chris Christie Is Running For President. But Is He Too Late?" June 30, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Chris Christie kicks off presidential campaign," June 30, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Exclusive: Chris Christie hires presidential campaign manager and appoints senior staff," July 3, 2015
- ↑ New York Daily News, "State Controller DiNapoli moves in on Gov. Cuomo's turf as contract watchdog," November 28, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Cuomo hires former Christie operative Maria Comella as his chief of staff," April 25, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 National Governors Association, "The Many Roles of the Governor’s Chief of Staff," accessed April 20, 2021
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