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Rep. Harris shakes up her staff |
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By The Hill Staff
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Posted: 11/24/04 12:00 AM [ET] |
It’s nearly the beginning of her second term in office, and Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) is learning the ropes and making changes among her congressional staff.
For starters, she has hired Chris Battle, a Capitol Hill veteran, to be her new chief of staff. Battle returns to the Hill after working as the chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. |
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Patrick G. Ryan |
| From left: David Host, Chris Battle and Garrison Courtney |
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Battle previously served as director of congressional and public affairs for the Drug Enforcement Agency under then-administrator Asa Hutchinson. A former journalist and editorial page editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Battle began his career in public service as press secretary and, later, deputy chief of staff for then-Rep. Hutchinson (R-Ark.).
In addition to replacing her longtime chief of staff, Brian McCay, Harris has made other shifts in her office. She has moved David Host, her press secretary for the past two years, into the position of senior adviser, where he will coordinate policy, communications and technology. His newly acquired duties include offering strategic counsel and developing the congresswoman’s message through speechwriting and electronic communications. Host has practiced law in both Georgia and Kentucky. He also has Hill experience; he worked for former Rep. Larry Hopkins (R-Ky.).
Lastly, Harris has a new spokesman in Garrison Courtney, who worked alongside Battle as a public affairs officer at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Courtney previously worked as a public affairs officer for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Seattle. Prior to his service in the Bush administration, he was a television reporter and weatherman for the CBS affiliate in Eugene, Ore.
Why the move to Capitol Hill?
“I see a lot of potential with Katherine,” said Courtney. “She’s just a very impressive individual when you meet her.” Aside from that, he said, it’s a good experience to “just deal with one person versus having to cover a broad spectrum of issues.” He laughed and said, “It’s never easy to deal with reporters.”
Still, he believes that his own experience as a journalist will help guide him along.
“The thing I bring to it is I understand,” he said. “I understand the deadlines. That’s one of my big goals, making sure we’re accessible. My phone is always open, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”
Rep. Lynch hires foreign-policy whiz
The latest hire in the office of Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) is Alexandra Toma. She comes on board as a legislative assistant handling several key issues including foreign policy, defense, immigration, trade, the budget, science, energy and the environment.
Born in Bucharest, Romania, and raised on Long Island, Alexandra graduated from the University of Virginia in 2001 with degrees in foreign affairs, psychology and French. Her thesis involved conflict-resolution methods in solving ethnic conflict. In 2003, she earned her master’s in foreign policy and security studies from Georgetown University. Her master’s thesis was on the impact of global HIV/AIDS on U.S. national security.
In addition to all the extensive education she has received, the new hire speaks French and Romanian fluently and is proficient in Spanish, Italian and German.
Alexandra comes to Capitol Hill after working at DFI International, where she was a senior analyst working on projects for the Department of Defense. She also worked at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and in the summer of 2002 worked at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm. |
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