Lt. Gov. Brown Adds Mayor Ortiz To Reshuffled Staff - Maryland Moment - Washington Post

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) is adding some heft to his small staff with the addition of a mayor from Prince George's County.

Adam Ortiz, mayor of the town of Edmonston, joins Brown's office this week as a deputy chief of staff.

Ortiz has worked in state government since July 2007 as a special assistant to Tom Perez, the secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Brown confirmed the move Friday in Ocean City at the Maryland Association of Counties conference.

Ortiz's arrival is the part of larger shuffling of key personnel around Brown, among the Democrats expected to increasingly jockey to succeed O'Malley if he wins re-election next year.

Asuntha Chiang-Smith, who has coordinated the state's response to the Base Realignment and Closure process, has also been elevated to deputy chief of staff status in Brown's office. She will continue to work on BRAC-related issues, a major focus for Brown, as well as other economic development topics.

Meanwhile, Brown's communications director, Barbara Streeter, recently left for a job as outreach liaison at the state Department of Housing & Community Development.

And Ben Stutz has arrived in the office as Brown's new policy director. Stutz had been a key staff member for Montgomery County Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring). Stutz replaces Jeanette Ortiz, who has moved over to serve as Chiang-Smith's deputy on BRAC issues.

Earlier this year, Brown flipped his top two staffers, making Earl Adams his chief of staff, and Jerry Boden, who formerly held that title, a deputy chief of staff.

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