BREAKING NEWS: Jerzyk to City Hall

BREAKING NEWS: Jerzyk to City Hall

Providence Mayor-elect Angel Taveras has appointed GoLocal MINDSETTER™ Matthew Jerzyk Director of Government Relations and Senior Counsel to the Mayor, the Taveras transition team said Thursday.

A lawyer at DeLuca and Weizenbaum, Ltd., Jerzyk has been involved in city politics dating back to outgoing-Mayor David Cicilline’s campaign in 2002. The 33 year old founded the progressive political blog Rhode Island’s Future and worked behind the scenes on the Taveras campaign. He graduated from Brown University and Roger Williams Law.

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The move comes as no surprise to many close to City Hall. Jerzyk is credited with constructing the strategy that allowed Taveras to win a four-way Democratic primary before cruising to victory in the general election. It was long rumored that he would be joining the mayor-elect’s new administration.

Taveras also named Gonzalo Cuervo his Deputy Chief of Staff. A longtime Cicilline staffer, Cuervo joins the Taveras team after an unsuccessful run at City Council in Ward 9. The transition team’s press release said he is currently on the advisory board at Community Works RI. Cuervo attended Springfield College.

“I am excited that Matthew and Gonzalo are joining my administration,” Mayor-elect Taveras said. “Matthew will be using his legal and government relations background to promote our policy agenda to move Providence forward. Gonzalo will build our team through his first-rate communications skills and complex understanding of how government works.”