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Olympia Comings and Goings

  • Barbara Baker has been tapped by House Speaker Frank Chopp to be the next Chief Clerk of the state House of Representatives.  Baker replaces Rich Nafiziger who left to become the staff director for the Senate Democratic Caucus.  Baker has worked for the House Democratic Caucus since 1996, serving a policy director for the past seven years.
  • Bill Wegeleben, Deputy Chief Clerk for the House of Representatives will rejoin his former boss and new Governor’s Chief of Staff Cindy Zehnder as Director of Government Operations.  Wegeleben has been in the House for eight and one half years, originally recruited to the position by Zehnder who served as Chief Clerk prior to becoming president of TVW in 2003.  Wegeleben’s duties will include overseeing the Governor’s appointments to Boards and Commissions, constituent casework and working with the small agency cabinet directors.
  • Jennifer Thornton and Sarah Ream, House Higher Education Committee analyst and counsel respectively, are leaving for new positions.  Jennifer is taking a position with the Department of Employment Security and Sarah is relocating to Sacramento, California where she will work for the Department of Managed Care.