LANSING – The top staffers announced Monday by Governor-elect Rick Snyder are Lansing veterans with his choices for chief of staff, legal counsel and communications director having a combined more than 60 years of experience working in or around state government.

For the critical post of chief of staff, Snyder turned to one of the capital city’s most tenured and powerful people: Dennis Muchmore, the founder of the Muchmore, Harrington, Smalley and Associates lobbying firm who got his start in the Capitol as a staffer on what was then the Senate Taxation Committee in the early 1970s.

Snyder named Michael Gadola legal counsel and Geralyn Lasher communications director. Both got their start in the administration of former Governor John Engler before moving on to other positions in the capital city, Lasher as deputy press secretary and Gadola deputy legal counsel and director of the Office of Regulatory Reform. Since then, Lasher has held a variety of roles, most recently as director of Infrastructure Service Divisions at the Department of Community Health. Gadola has been the Supreme Court counsel since 2001.

Snyder said at a Capitol news conference that Muchmore’s background in the public and private sectors impressed him, similar to how he has looked for that blend in his other appointments.

“Dennis has tremendous experience,” he said. “He’s been an institution around Lansing for quite some time.”

So far, all six of Snyder’s appointments have come with resumes heavy on Capitol experience. Besides Monday’s announcement, Snyder also has named House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) as treasurer, former Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus as a senior adviser on legislative affairs and Bill Rustem, president and CEO of the think tank Public Sector Consultants, as director of strategy.

Snyder said his choices so far fit his desire for staff who are passionate about his vision and his 10-point plan and have the values to interact well with others.

“I always said it would be a good balance,” Snyder said of his hires so far reflecting insider experience. “These are all outstanding illustrations of that. These are fine, outstanding people. And I’m proud to have the opportunity to work with them.”

Muchmore most recently was executive vice president at DHR International, where he recruited executives for corporate clients. Besides his work in the Senate and at the Muchmore firm, he also worked for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Governmental Consultant Services Incorporated lobbying firm and was executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

He said he no longer has any ties to the Muchmore firm, making it unnecessary to set up any protocols on how the administration will handle issues on which the firm is lobbying. He said he hasn’t done any lobbying in seven or eight years.

“Since last summer, we’ve completely severed our relationship,” he said of the Muchmore firm. “It’s a great firm, they’re great people and I like them very much, they’re great friends of mine, but I’m not affiliated with that firm and don’t expect it to have any bearing on any of the activities.”

But Muchmore also showed he remains very much aware of the lobbying world. He said there are 2,734 lobbyists in the state (state records show 2,774 are active) and said he probably knows 1,500 of them. He said his lobbying background also would “enable me to not have to learn a bunch of odds and ends.”

Muchmore said he decided to take the position because it offers a great opportunity to address his disappointment with how the state has been run. He said he thought the Capitol’s problems stemmed from fear of change and defaulting to incremental changes.

“You’re just taking the system and you’re taking little pieces of it and pretty soon, there’s not much left,” he said.

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