Berkley relies on her new deputy chief of staff for administration, Marcie Evans, to make sure the office runs smoothly. Evans has worked on the Hill since January 1978, when the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” was at the top of the charts. A longtime staffer for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Evans has been in Berkley’s office since 1999. Her eldest son graduated this year from the University of Cincinnati.

Jeff Davis, 21, is the new legislative correspondent/communications assistant after a mere three months as staff assistant. He hails from Olney, Md., and graduated from the University of Maryland. He interned last summer in the office of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) before moving on to work on Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Davis is in charge of assuring constituents that Berkley is doing everything she can to prevent their home state from being turned into the world’s largest nuclear-waste dump. This August he’s scheduled for a stint in the district office in Las Vegas helping out with press events. Davis, who has never visited Sin City, fears the 115-degree summer heat will prove too much for him.

“But it’s a dry heat,” other staff members note helpfully.

Rounding out the staff hires is Carrie Fiarman, 21, taking over as staff assistant. Fiarman, a native of Coral Springs, Fla., is another University of Maryland alum; there seems to be a direct pipeline of talent from the College Park campus to Berkley’s office. Fiarman is a former intern for Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), whose constituents, she recalls, had one-track minds: It was all Social Security, all the time.
>“Here, there’s more of a range of issues we get calls on,” she says. In addition to answering phones, Fiarman routinely gives tours of the Capitol to visiting Las Vegans, on which she makes sure to point out the most recent addition to the building’s collection of state statues: Nevada’s Sarah Winnemucca, the first Native American woman to publish a book in English.

Fiarman also plays a key role in keeping Berkley’s staff well nourished. “She’s known to bring delicious treats into the office,” says Davis.

In the office for the summer is intern Alex Miller, 17, who will be a senior in high school this fall. A Los Angeles resident, Miller recently won second place in a talent show judged by Alfre Woodard, Jason Alexander, Jason Ritter and Seth Green.

Smith aide moves from White House

Joining the staff of Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) is former White House press aide Brad Dayspring, 28. Dayspring will serve as Smith’s communications director. He worked on President Bush’s 2000 campaign and has spent time on the Hill with former Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio). He is a native of Pompton Lakes, N.J.

A former varsity hockey player at Villanova, Dayspring is eagerly anticipating the NHL’s return to the ice this fall. Don’t tell anyone back in Smith’s district, but he roots for the Rangers — noting in his defense that the New Jersey Devils did not exist while he was growing up.