January 29, 2007 08:28 PM UTC

Ritter Makes More Senior Staff Appointments

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• by: Colorado Pols

Governor Bill Ritter’s office announced additional senior staff appointments today. Perhaps the most interesting is the appointment of Shaylisa Hurte as director of Boards and Commissions. After serving as finance director for Ritter’s gubernatorial campaign and for Ken Salazar’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2004, Hurte would have been heavily sought to, uh, finance direct another Democratic campaign in 2008.

Click below for the full press release.

Gov. Bill Ritter today announced the appointments of several senior staff members, including director and deputy director of Boards and Commissions, deputy directors for communications and legal, and transportation policy analyst.

Boards and Commissions

Shaylisa Hurte has been named director of Boards and Commissions. Hurte served as deputy campaign manager/finance director of the Ritter for Governor campaign. Prior to that she was the political and finance director of the Salazar for Senate campaign. She earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 2003.

Amanda K. Belles will join Hurte as deputy director of the governor’s Office of Boards and Commissions. Belles was field director for the Ritter for Governor campaign. Hurte and Belles will manage applications, nominations and appointments for approximately 3,500 board and commission openings during Ritter’s four-year term.

Communications 

Wil Alston has been named deputy director of the governor’s Communications Office. Alston was regional public affairs coordinator for the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration from 1996 to 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he operated his own business, The PR Shop, and from 2004 to 2006 he was vice president of the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce.

Legal Counsel

Craig Welling has been named the governor’s deputy legal counsel. Welling has been an associate at the law firm of Rothgerber, Johnson and Lyons since 2001. He received his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law in 2001. Prior to practicing law, Welling was an environmental engineer with Matlack Inc. from 1995 to 1998.

Policy and Initiatives

Carla Perez has been named senior policy analyst for transportation in the Office of Policy and Initiatives. Perez has more than 18 years of experience in the field of transportation policy and finance. She was a policy director for the Colorado Department of Transportation from 1991 to 1999, ran her own consulting business from 1999 to 2004 and was a project manager for Carter & Burgess from 2004 until her appointment.