Lt. Gov-elect Ralph Northam announces transition team, administration posts

Lt. Gov.-elect Ralph Northam announced on Monday two senior staff hires for his administration and the Co-Chairs of his transition team. Clark Mercer has been named as chief of staff and Michael Matthews as director of constituent services and scheduling.

The Co-Chairs of his transition team from around the state are:

• Jane Batten
• Don Beyer, Former Lieutenant Governor and Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein
• Senator Barbara Favola
• Eva Tieg Hardy, Former Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Senator Donald McEachin
• Dr. Alan Wagner

“The team we have put together share my vision for the Commonwealth and have committed their careers to the kind of pragmatic, bipartisan leadership I will bring to the Virginia Senate and the office of lieutenant governor,” Northam said. “I am confident that Clark and our transition chairs will lay the groundwork for an office committed to working across the aisle for commonsense policies that keep Virginia’s economy strong. I am honored that each of these individuals has agreed to be a part of the lieutenant lovernor’s office as we set a course for a very bright future here in the Commonwealth.”

Clark Mercer: Chief of Staff

Clark Mercer previously served as political director of the Democratic Party of Virginia and deputy director for policy and research for Mark Warner’s Senate campaign. Originally from Alexandria, Mercer served as a professional staff member on the congressionally chartered Commission on Wartime Contracting, which Sen. Jim Webb co-sponsored, and as a consultant with LMI Government Consulting.

The former chairman of the Alexandria Democratic Committee from 2009-2011, Mercer now resides in Ashland with his wife, Kelly, and son, Everett, and daughter, Cecilia.

Mercer received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.

Michael Matthews: Director of Constituent Services and Scheduling

Michael served most recently as the director of scheduling for Ralph Northam’s campaign for lieutenant governor. Michael previously worked as part of the Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign in 2012. Mathews received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida.