Patrick names chief of staff

By Scott Helman
Globe Staff

Governor-elect Deval L. Patrick, moving quickly to hire a top aide for his new administration, has tapped Joan Wallace-Benjamin, the president and CEO of The Home for Little Wanderers and a former head of the Urban League of Massachusetts.

Patrick annnounced the plans this morning.

Wallace-Benjamin, who graduated from Wellesley College and earned a PhD from Brandeis University, has led the The Home for Little Wanderers since February 2003, according to a biography on the agency's website. She led the Urban League from 1989 to 2000, and has also worked as the director of operations for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and as a consultant with Whitehead Mann, an executive recruitment firm.

The selection of Wallace-Benjamin, who is black, is another signal from Patrick that he intends to fulfill his pledge to build a diverse team of leaders to guide the first Democratic administration in 16 years.

Last week, Patrick named three leaders for his transition team, which will help him fill other top jobs, including cabinet posts. The three co-chairmen are Gloria Larson, a lawyer who served as former governor William F. Weld's economic affairs secretary; Michael Angelini, a lawyer who headed the Worcester County Bar Association; and Ronald Homer, former head of Boston Bank of Commerce and the chief executive of Access Capital Strategies, a firm that helps banks meet their lending obligations in low-income communities.

In addition, Patrick is convening working groups in various subject areas to help craft his legislative and policy agendas.

Patrick has already met with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, as well as the top Republican leaders in each chamber, as he prepares to take office on Jan. 4. This weekend, Patrick is scheduled to attend a conference for new governors in West Virginia sponsored by the National Governors Association. Wallace-Benjamin is expected to join Patrick at the seminar.

According to a release from Patrick's staff, attorney Ben Clements will be appointed chief legal counsel to the Governor. He is identified in the release as a former federal prosecutor and litigation expert in private practice.

The release says that John Walsh, who was Patrick’s campaign manager, will serve as Director of the Transition Committee staff.

Richard Chacon, who served as Patrick’s deputy campaign manager, was named Communications Director for the Patrick-Murray Transition Committee. Communications consultant Larry Carpman, president of Carpman Communications, will also work with the committee, and Doug Rubin, a Senior Associate at PrimeGroup, LLC and advisor to the Patrick-Murray campaign, will continue to work with the Transition Committee.