New gig for Chafee’s policy chief Daniels; Mahoney takes over

WPRI.COM

Ted Nesi

Updated: Apr 16, 2012 9:04 PM

Brian Daniels, who’s been Governor Chafee’s director of policy since he took office, is taking a new job across the street at the Department of Administration.

Chafee has tapped Daniels to lead the state’s new performance-management initiative, the governor told his cabinet Monday in an email obtained by WPRI.com. Kelly Mahoney will replace Daniels as Chafee’s policy director, keeping the title she currently has working for Department of Administration Director Richard Licht.

Daniels will be “working with departments and agencies to encourage data-driven decision-making” to “help them produce meaningful results,” the governor said. “These efforts will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state government and ensure that we are careful stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

The changes won’t be a major surprise to those familiar with the state’s inner workings. Daniels, a former aide to Congressman Jim Langevin, studied the application of management theories to the public sector while earning an MBA at Yale, and Licht is a big fan of Mahoney, a former Rhode Island Senate staffer.

“The governor is a big believer in putting people where their passions and their interests lie, and this is a positive switch for both of them,” Chafee spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger told WPRI.com. The governor has also proposed creating a new Office of Management and Budget as part of the efficiency push.

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