Peters’ staff shifts as term ends

As the end of his term draws near, Council President Scott Peters has announced several key personnel changes in his First District office, including his chief of staff and communications director.

His last day in office is Dec. 8.

MaryeAnne Pintar, a La Jolla political consultant who previously was chief of staff to former Mayor Susan Golding, replaces Elizabeth Kinsley. Kinsley moves to a position as chief of staff for San Diego State University President Stephen Weber. “It was a privilege working for Scott and District 1,” said Kinsley, “giving me a chance to positively impact people’s lives in a very direct way. Scott was a wonderful role model. His goal is to make the situation better than the way he found it.”

Pam Hardy, Peters’ communications director since January 2006 who formerly was a senior producer at KPBS Radio, is yielding her post to Michelle Ganon. Hardy will become associate director for marketing and communications at California Western School of Law, starting Sept. 22.

Pintar said she is honored to be in a position to help Peters close out his second council term and is most impressed by what Peters has done in crafting his role as Council President under the city’s new strong mayor form of government.

“I worked on the strong-mayor council initiative and I took a great interest in the transition to the new form of government. I don’t know if it could have worked as well as it has without someone smart, effective and strong like Scott to create this new role.”

During the remainder of his term, Peters said, he would like to finish off some projects in his district and ensure that his successor is fully briefed and up to speed on all matters of policy and protocol.

• Senior Policy Analyst Christina Cameron accepted a position as an associate with the law firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz.
• Policy Analyst and Council Representative Madeleine Baudoin will join BIOCOM as associate director of public policy.
• Nathan Batchelder was promoted to council representative, working in Torrey Hills and Rancho Peñasquitos.
• Jacob O’Neill has been hired as constituent services representative. He also represents Peters in University City and serves as military liaison.

Peters said he is uncertain about his future career path. “I’ve gotten a lot of nice inquiries and I’m going to take some time to think them over,” he said. “I’m in no rush.”
He declined to say whether he would run for public office again, but added he’ll stay involved in community affairs.