Catherine Pugh

Baltimore Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh announced her first official appointments as Mayor for her staff. She appointed Tisha Edwards as her Chief of Staff, Peter Hammen as her Chief of Operations, Jim Smith as the Chief of Strategic Alliances, Karen Stokes as the Director of Government Relations and Anthony McCarthy as her Director of Communications.

On the selection of the appointments, Pugh said, “I am very excited to bring this dynamic team with me to City Hall …This team has an exceptional track record of public service and they will help me to transform Baltimore into a thriving and vibrant city for businesses and residents.”

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Chief of Staff Tisha Edwards will be responsible for the day to day activities in the Mayor’s office. Edwards is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for The JS Plank & DM DiCarlo Family Foundation, an independent foundation focusing on child welfare, diseases and conditions, education and human services.

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Chief of Operations Peter Hammen will oversee twelve city agencies that impact a full range of city services including the Department of Public Works, Department of General Services, Health Department and Finance and Human Resources. Recently, Hammen has represented District 46 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 1995.

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Chief of Strategic Alliance Jim Smith will oversee the Mayor-elect’s economic development efforts, the Department of Transportation, the Fire Department and Emergency Management. Smith, a former Baltimore County Executive and a former associate judge on the Circuit Court of Baltimore County was more recently the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation in the O’Malley administration.

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Karen Stokes’ role as Director of Government Relations will be to serve as the Mayor’s primary lobbyist and liaison to the Baltimore City Council, Maryland General Assembly and the United States Congress.

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Anthony McCarthy will serve as the Director of Communications for the Mayor’s new administration. As such he will act as the Mayor-elect’s primary spokesperson and coordinate public affairs for the Mayor’s office and all city agencies.