NEWS RELEASE: December 17, 2001
Rybak Announces Mayoral Appointments
R.T. Rybak announced today his first three appointments to his Mayoral staff. David Fey, currently Executive Director of Seward Redesign, will be his Deputy Mayor. Laura Sether will be a Senior Policy Aide and Press Secretary. Peter Wagenius will be a Senior Policy Aide and Council Liaison. Sether and Wagenius were co-campaign managers of the Rybak campaign.
David Fey has been Executive Director of Seward Redesign, a leading nonprofit community development corporation, since 1995. A registered architect with 20 years of design and planning experience, Fey served on the board of Seward Redesign for nine years before becoming Executive Director. He was Communications Director of architectural firm Ellerbe Beckett prior to that.
Rybak said, "I have known of David’s work for many years. He’s known for building strong teams and creating organizations that are responsive to communities. As he’s done with our affordable housing work group, I’m confident that David will help put our campaign promises into action."
Fey is widely recognized as a pragmatic but passionate advocate for affordable housing. He was elected Vice Chair of the Minneapolis Affordable Housing Task Force in 1998 and serves on the Local Advisory Committee of the Twin Cities office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). He is currently leading the affordable housing work group of the Rybak Transition Team, which will announce a set of housing strategies for the first 90 days of the new administration later today.
Fey said, "I’m honored and excited about this appointment. I think of myself as a ‘pragmatic visionary,’ which means that I get my energy from imagining what is possible, but I get my satisfaction from actually getting things done."
Laura Sether was the Legislative Liaison and Communications Director at Minnesota Planning prior to going to work on the Rybak campaign. She was also a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Congressman Tim Penny.
Peter Wagenius has worked for Senate DFL Caucus doing writing, research and media work for the past five years. He served as deputy field director for the Humphrey-Moe gubernatorial campaign in 1998.
Mayoral office appointments take effect when the Mayor is sworn in on January 2, 2002.
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Laura Sether, Standish-Ericsson
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