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Perez Chief Of Staff To Step Down

By Hartford Courant

August 14, 2009

Saturday Update: Sorry for the multiple posts on this yesterday. Miscommunication.

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Matt Hennessy, Mayor Eddie A. Perez's chief of staff, has announced he will resign, effective in September, to take a job in the private sector.

Hennessy, 38, has been in the post since 2001. He is paid more than $110,500 a year to handle public policy development, intergovernmental relations, special economic development projects, and strategic communications.

"Since our work together in developing the Learning Corridor, Matt has been a trusted aide and effective adviser who has helped me navigate difficult public policy and political issues," Perez said Friday. "His passion for public service and mastery of the intricacies of government has helped my administration make the city better for all our residents."

"It has been an honor to work for Mayor Perez and the people of Hartford," Hennessy said Friday. "Even though I am leaving government, I will continue to do what I can to support the mayor's agenda to keep Hartford's progress going."

Before he took the chief of staff's job, Hennessy worked with Perez at the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance building the Learning Corridor project. Hennessy, a resident of the city's West End, has worked as a deputy national finance director for the Democratic National Committee and for U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman.

Hennessy earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and his master's degree in public policy from Trinity College. Early in his political career, he worked for the Hartford County Sheriff's Office as a deputy to then-Sheriff Walter J. Kupchunos Jr.

Hennessy will leave his position with the city Sept. 14. Deputy COO Susan McMullen will temporarily assume his duties while a search is conducted for a successor.