Patrick turns to political aide for help

Governor Deval Patrick has tapped his top campaign adviser, Doug Rubin, to replace Joan Wallace-Benjamin as his chief of staff, a move aimed at ramping up his senior staff with politically and media savvy aides, senior administration sources said yesterday.

Patrick is shuffling his staff as he tries to recover from a tumultuous first 100 days in office, during which he made a number of missteps that have weakened his political position on Beacon Hill and damaged public confidence in his ability to handle the job.

Rubin's appointment as chief of staff, which takes effect Tuesday, will give Patrick what many of his critics and supporters say has been lacking in the governor's office in the critical first months in office: a strong hand to guide him through the political minefields on Beacon Hill and to shape the administration's media operations.

Rubin will serve in the top post at least through the budget season, which generally ends in July, and perhaps into the fall. His tenure will depend on how much he is needed and how quickly he can get Patrick's inner circle working effectively, an administration source said.

The governor's office released a statement late yesterday that Wallace-Benjamin is returning to her position as president and chief executive of the Home for Little Wanderers. She led the nonprofit, which is New England's largest human services agency, from February 2003 until late last year when Patrick appointed her as chief of staff.

Wallace-Benjamin is a longtime friend of Patrick and worked with the governor when he was active in civil rights issues and she led the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.

After the Globe inquired about the pending changes, the Home for Little Wanderers, which provides child and family services, released a statement saying that its board, in a "unanimous vote of confidence," had asked her to return to her position, effective mid-May.

Patrick's office released a statement confirming her departure, which had been rumored for some days. "Joan has done a tremendous job, both with the transition and during the first few months of the administration, helping to build our staff, achieve our first 100 days accomplishments and get the administration off to a strong start," Patrick said.

The statement did not mention her replacement, but Patrick later confirmed his choice of Rubin during an interview on New England Cable News.

"Doug Rubin is coming in to serve in that capacity and take us to the next chapter, and we're looking forward to a smooth transition," said Patrick, who denied that Wallace-Benjamin had been pushed out. "No, no, it was a mutual conversation. It's a tough, tough job, and the tenure for chiefs of staff are short, I think, generally."

Patrick's selection of Wallace-Benjamin, who is highly regarded in the human services world, followed through on his campaign promise to hire people outside political circles and to build a diverse leadership team. But some questioned the choice, because she did not have the necessary experience to operate in a heated political and media theater.

Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University, said Wallace-Benjamin "seemed conspicuously unqualified for the office of chief staff."

"It's taken him a long time to recognize that he needed to strengthen his political and policy operations," Berry said. He added that Rubin ran a good campaign for Patrick and "would appear to have the requisite skills" to run the governor's office.

Soon after the election, Rubin talked with Patrick about taking the post, but, according to those familiar with the negotiations, he and the governor could not decide on the role that the chief of staff would play. Those sources said Rubin had proposed a strong role for himself, something that Patrick rejected but apparently is now accepting. Rubin will earn an annual salary of $100,000, $20,000 less than Wallace-Benjamin.

Both supporters and critics said the inexperience of Wallace-Benjamin and Nancy Fernandez Mills, the governor's director of communications, was partly responsible for the problems that plagued Patrick in his first months in office. The missteps include his decision to upgrade his state car to a Cadillac, refurnish his office, hire a $72,000 aide for his wife, and make a call to a major banking institution on behalf of a controversial subprime lender. Mills officially remains his director of communications, but does not oversee day-to-day press operations.

Rubin, a veteran Democratic political operative, guided Patrick's long-shot campaign for governor last year, acting as a media and political consultant. In the two-year race, Patrick, a former corporate executive who was a political novice, was able to outmaneuver established political figures and stood firm against a withering media campaign from his Republican opponent to win a landslide victory.

But the first three months in office have been rough for Patrick, with even his supporters expressing concern that his administration was faltering.

Last month, as he faced increasing political problems and poor press coverage, Patrick appointed Joseph Landolfi, a veteran press aide at the State House, to be a senior media adviser, and David Morales -- a senior policy aide to Robert E. Travaglini, then Senate president -- as the governor's deputy chief of staff.

Wallace-Benjamin became increasingly marginalized as Patrick turned to his new team for guidance.

Rubin, who had set up a political and public strategy consulting firm, was increasingly present in the governor's office to help map administration strategy. He was potentially facing criticism that he was using his access to the governor to set up a lucrative consulting practice.

In recent weeks, Rubin had been active in Niki Tsongas's campaign for the soon-to-be-vacant Fifth Congressional District seat.

In her statement yesterday, Wallace-Benjamin cited her role in helping to put together Patrick's Cabinet and top staff.

"Together we appointed a qualified and talented Cabinet and senior staff leadership and brought an open, inclusive, and welcoming tenor to the State House and to our government," she said.

The Home for Little Wanderers said it had conducted a national search for a chief executive after Wallace-Benjamin left and compiled "a stellar pool of candidates," according to board chairman, John Hailer.

"Ultimately, Joan was, and is, our strongest candidate," Hailer said.