Malloy Names Budget Chief

Governor-elect Dan Malloy has named one of his former Stamford employees to be his budget chief.  WNPR's Jeff Cohen has more.

 

Ben Barnes will serve as Malloy's secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.  Barnes directed several departments while in Stamford, and now is the operating officer for the Bridgeport public schools. 

 

Barnes may not come to the job as a veteran of state politics.  But that didn't matter to Malloy.

 

"I started to smile when you said he doesn't know how the place works.  He knows how I work."

 

Barnes said he was honored by the appointment and awed by the fiscal challenges the state faces. 

 

"I think that the approach that Dan and Nancy laid out in the campaign stating the truth and honestly and forthrightly presenting the financial condition of the state of Connecticut...is exactly the right one and I look forward to doing that."

 

Barnes also said he is sensitive to the financial binds of many municipalities.

 

"If you take a billion dollars out of state aid to local governments, that will appear in people's property tax bills, which is quite possibly as harmful or more harmful than other alternatives. I certainly am aware of that dynamic and will keep it in mind as I go about this job."

 

Barnes is 42 years old and lives in Stratford with his wife and three sons.

 

For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.