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Top budget chief resigns from Patrick administration

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 25, 2009 12:00 PM

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(George Rizer/Globe Staff/file 2006)

By Matt Viser and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick’s top budget chief, who guided his administration through the last three years of fiscal crisis, is leaving for a top post at Harvard University, an administration official said this morning.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie A. Kirwan is submitting her resignation to become dean of administration and finance for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.

Patrick made the announcement at his weekly cabinet meeting this morning, according to the administration source. The governor also announced that she would be replaced by Jay Gonzalez, who has been Kirwan's top deputy and is highly regarded in the governor’s inner circle.

This is the third major departure in the last two months for the Patrick administration. His chief of staff, Doug Rubin, left to focus on campaign issues. Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi announced his resignation earlier this month.

Kirwan has been a candidate for past jobs at Harvard, and her departure has been expected. The administration official said Gonzalez’s elevation would be a “seamless transition.”

Kirwan has been in the job since Patrick became governor. Previously she was the budget chief for the Massachusetts Port Authority, where in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, she helped Logan International Airport regain its financial footing.

Her 2 1/2-year tenure has been marked by deep budget cuts and declining state revenues. Her departure also distances her from a potentially politically difficult position. She had been a top deputy to Charles D. Baker, a former administration and finance secretary and a Republican who is now challenging Patrick in next year’s election. Kirwan has remained close to Baker but is also loyal to Patrick.

Kirwan, the state's first female administration and finance secretary, has a quiet confidence and a dry wit. She keeps a whip in the corner of her office, she jokes, to keep people in line during budget seasons. A staff member gave her a sign last year that says, "Don't make me break out my flying monkeys" -- a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West.