Paul Mounds replaces Ryan Drajewicz as governor’s chief of staff

Paul Mounds has been appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont as his chief of staff, succeeding Ryan Drajewicz, one of the architects of the governor”™s tolls plan.

The governor noted that the transition was a planned one. When Drajewicz assumed the role at the beginning of the Lamont administration, he agreed to serve for one year. Nevertheless, the move comes just a few days after Lamont announced he thought it was “time to take a pause” on tolls after months of sometimes bitter wrangling.

Mounds, the state”™s chief operating officer, is the first African-American to hold the chief of staff post in state history. Replacing him as Connecticut”™s COO is Department of Administrative Services  Commissioner Josh Geballe.

Prior to joining Lamont”™s administration when the governor took office in January 2019, Mounds was vice president of policy and communications for the Connecticut Health Foundation. He also served as senior director of public policy and government relations for Gov. Dannel Malloy, during which he managed public policy development and the legislative program for the administration.

He also previously worked for U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal as deputy state director for outreach, and began his career in public service as the federal grants coordinator and press assistant, and eventually communications director, for U.S. Rep. John Larson.

“Paul is incredibly talented and one of the hardest working people with whom I”™ve had the opportunity to work,” Lamont said, “and I am excited to have him serving in this new capacity and helping to guide our administration in our efforts to grow our economy, add jobs, streamline government, and stay true to our core mission of serving the people of Connecticut.”

“Serving in Gov. Lamont”™s administration has given me an opportunity to give back to the state in which I was raised and continue to call home,” Mounds said. “I am honored by the governor”™s confidence in me and believe that working collaboratively, we can bring about the effective changes that will make Connecticut stronger and in a better position for the next generation.”

Drajewicz, a Fairfield resident, said he had not decided on his next career step. He frequently butted heads with Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, especially on tolls. In March 2019 he dismissed Fasano”™s and fellow Republicans”™ “Prioritize Progress” plan for addressing infrastructure needs, which relied heavily on bonding, as “Prioritized Borrowing.”

“I wish Ryan all the best,” Fasano said. “While we may have disagreed on policy issues, I was always able to communicate with him directly and openly. He is a hard worker who welcomed dialogue on how to improve our state and help its residents.”

“I appreciate Ryan”™s dedication and service to our state,” Lamont said. “He has been an important partner as we began our administration and I thank him for being a partner in our efforts to lead our office.”

Of Mounds, Fasano said: “Paul is someone we all know well at the Capitol and who has a great deal of experience working with lawmakers. I look forward to continuing to work with Paul to best serve our state and ensure the voices of all our constituents are heard.”

Meanwhile, Mounds”™ replacement as state COO, Geballe, has been working with Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw to lay the groundwork to utilize the upcoming wave of anticipated state employee retirements as an impetus to redesign government to operate more efficiently and utilize 21^st century technologies to their maximum capacity.

The stated goal of those actions is to allow residents and businesses to have more seamless interactions with state government while producing cost savings for taxpayers.

All executive branch departments will report to Geballe, who will remain Department of Administrative Services commissioner.