Becker: New mayor's office will look a little different than Rocky's

The Ralph Becker administration is starting to take shape.

The Salt Lake mayor-elect announced three new appointments to his executive/support staff Tuesday, as well as his plans to retain at least two members of Mayor Rocky Anderson's administration.

David Everitt, who served as Becker's campaign manager, will be chief of staff of the new administration; former state senator Karen Hale will be Becker's communications director; and local attorney Ben McAdams will be senior advisor for intergovernmental affairs.

The mayor-elect also announced he plans to retain Lyn Creswell as chief administrative officer and Ed Butterfield as economic development manager. Becker said he plans to announce additional appointments, including more holdovers from Anderson's staff, by Friday.

The structure of the mayor's office will be a little different under Becker than previous administrations. Becker, who will be sworn in Jan. 7, said his staff will be organized under three primary functions: communications, intergovernmental relations and policy coordination.

As Becker's chief of staff, Everitt will supervise the day-to-day operations of the mayor's office and will coordinate the efforts of those three functions.

"In some cases, these are functions that are now existing in other parts of the city," Becker said. "In other cases, we're talking about doing some things that are new."

Hale will organize and direct communications with constituents, city departments and the media. She also will indirectly oversee the Salt Lake Solutions program for proactively addressing community issues.

McAdams will coordinate the policy function and work closely with policy analysts throughout the city's departments to develop and implement the mayor-elect's 180-day plan and "blueprints."

"Intergovernmental relations have been handled in a couple of different places within the city," Becker said. "I view that as so important for my success as mayor that I really want that in the mayor's office."

Becker has not yet selected a senior advisor for policy, an education partnership coordinator or a sustainability director. The office of diversity also will undergo changes, as issues of diversity and human rights are combined into one function, the mayor-elect said.

---

E-mail: jpage@desnews.com