Democrat Doug Jones, who will be sworn in as a senator representing Alabama this week, announced on Tuesday that his chief of staff will be Dana Gresham, a former assistant secretary for government affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
I would like to welcome Alabama native & former Asst. Secretary for Governmental Affairs at @USDOT Dana Gresham, who will be joining our team as Chief of Staff. pic.twitter.com/Fo8lNQGupP
— Doug Jones (@GDouglasJones) January 2, 2018
Before joining the Obama administration, Gresham worked for several members of Congress on Capitol Hill. With Gresham’s hiring, Jones will be the only Democratic senator with a black chief of staff. Two Republican senators have black chiefs of staff.
Gresham’s hiring comes after advocacy groups urged Jones to hire people of color to lead his Senate staff given that minority voters helped propel Jones to a stunning victory in deep-red Alabama. In a December letter, seventeen groups, including, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the NAACP and the National Urban League, wrote to Jones and asked him to hire at least one person of color to work in one of the top three staff positions in his Senate office.
This post has been updated.
Good hire, a part of me was hoping it was a woman of color. I think that would have made a louder statement considering their instrumental role in his victory.
My two cents.
Good for him, less shitty white people always helps society
It would’ve been better if he hired simply the BEST person regardless of race or gender. Thats what true diversity is about. Perhaps this person was the best one, but the idea that it HAD to be a POC is absurd
I much prefer the classy way that Senator-elect Jones announced the hire, by noting Mr. Graham’s prior management experience in government.
The fact that he’s from Alabama is a bonus and the color of his skin isn’t mentioned at all. It doesn’t have to be.
What an insanely dumb comment.