Kim Janey’s Boston City Hall press room has largely emptied out

The City Hall press room under Acting Mayor Kim Janey has whittled down from six staffers at one point last year to now just two, as Janey has remained without a press secretary during a busy couple of months in Boston.

After yet another departure this week, the press office consists of communications chief Stephanie Garrett-Stearns and one press assistant. At its peak last year, the press shop had six members — the communications chief, the press secretary and four aides.

But now the chief position has turned over twice, once under then-Mayor Martin Walsh’s tenure last year, and then again in May when Nick Martin, who started under Walsh and then continued into Janey’s time, left for the private sector. That followed shortly after then-press secretary Samantha Ormsby, another Walsh holdover, departed for the state auditor’s office.

Several other departures from the office have come since Walsh in January became President Biden’s pick for labor secretary, including one, Ana Vivas, who now runs communications for State House Speaker Ron Mariano.

Normally, the press secretary runs the day-to-day responsibilities, while the communications chief, which is a cabinet position, oversees the press office, the speechwriters and broader policy.

Garrett-Stearns told the Herald the city is actively hiring a press secretary and is looking to build out the office again.

“It’s a top priority for me,” she said.

She said her first priority was staffing back up the speechwriting office, which had emptied out completely after Walsh left. She said it’s now back up to three people. Garrett-Stearns praised Emma Pettit, the lone remaining press aide, and acknowledges that they’ve been pretty busy, to say the least.

“No one wants to see this search move forward more than I do,” Garrett-Stearns said.

The press-room hollowing-out has coincided with a large number of departures from City Hall this year. Data provided to the Herald by the city a month ago showed 331 people had departed in 2021, compared with 122 people hired. Walsh was picked for the Labor Department post a week into January, so the calendar-year data essentially matches up with the timeline for changes in the big office in City Hall.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3qWRpQZ