Mayor-elect Jacob Frey on Wednesday announced his transition team and key staff appointments as he prepares to take office Jan. 2.
Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Northside Achievement Zone CEO Sondra Samuels and Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation President Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou will lead the transition. They will help Frey set up a policy operation, set up a new mayor's office and plan the inauguration, which is Jan. 8.
"A smooth transition of leadership benefits not just the mayor-elect but the entire city of Minneapolis," Rybak, the president of the Minneapolis Foundation, said in a statement.
Frey's campaign manager, former DFL state Rep. Joe Radinovich, will be his chief of staff in the mayor's office, and his two council staffers, Heidi Ritchie and Zack Farley, will take jobs in the mayor's office.
Frey, the council member for the Third Ward, defeated Mayor Betsy Hodges and 14 other challengers in the election.
Residents, organizations, community leaders, and all incoming City Council members will be invited to take part in either working groups or transition work, he said.
The working groups fall under a broader policy task force that will be led by Elizabeth Glidden, the outgoing Eighth Ward City Council member, and Abou Amara, former policy advisor at the state House of Representatives. The team will study policy ideas and try to give the mayor's office recommendations.
Adam Belz • 612-673-4405
Twitter: @adambelz
