Mayor Wheeler Names New Chief Of Staff, Elevating Interim Chief

PORTLAND, OR – Kristen Dennis started a new job on Tuesday. It's a lot like her old job only she will have a little less of a load to carry around. She drops the word "interim" from her title.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says that after almost two months as his interim chief of staff, she now has the job permanently.

Dennis had been deputy chief of staff when her predecessor, Michael Cox, quit abruptly in January. Wheeler named her to fill in while the search went on for a replacement.

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Apparently, he didn't have to look far.

"Kristin is a trusted advisor," Wheeler says. She had served as his policy director and chief of staff when he was Oregon State Treasurer.

"It's a challenging job, and she has already stepped up. I look forward to her continued leadership."

Before working for Wheeler in Salem, she had – at 22-years-old – become the youngest person ever elected to the Lake Oswego City Council.

She served there from 2007-2010.

Photo via City of Portland.