Gov. Tom Wolf’s chief of staff Mike Brunelle and his budget secretary Jen Swails are departing the administration, according to the governor’s office.
Brunelle, whose last day is Friday, will be succeeded by Elena Cross, who is serving as a deputy chief of staff to the governor. Swails, 44, is departing at the end of July and Gregory Thall, special advisor to the budget secretary, will assume her position.
Both are leaving to take positions in the private sector.
Cross, a Cumberland County resident, worked on Wolf’s campaign when he first ran for office in 2014 as well as on his transition team. Previously, she served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
Thall has worked in the Office of the Budget since 2015 but has worked for the commonwealth for more than a dozen years in various capacities. He previously served as deputy general counsel in the governor’s Office of General Counsel, as a senior advisor to Wolf’s transition team and as deputy chief council to the state Senate Democratic Caucus.
Earlier in his career, Thall was the Assistant Director of Government Relations for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Gregory Thall, who has been serving as special assistant to the governor's budget secretary, will assume the secretary's post in July. June 24, 2021 Submitted photo
Brunelle, 36, has been a member of Wolf’s inner circle since the beginning of the governor’s administration in 2015. He leaves as state lawmakers and the administration are wrapping up work on the 2021-22 state budget.
“Mike Brunelle has led my administration through unprecedented times including the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wolf said in a statement. “Mike negotiated major pieces of legislation including Act 77, which greatly expanded access to voting for Pennsylvanians. He worked across the aisle to negotiate budgets in the most difficult situations, facing multi-billion-dollar budget deficits.
“I am proud of Mike’s work and his contribution to my administration, and I look forward to seeing the work he will do throughout his career.”
Brunelle was the third person to serve as the governor’s chief of staff in 2017 when his predecessor Mary Isenhour departed to go to work on Wolf’s re-election campaign.
Isenhour, who now serves on the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, replaced Katie McGinty about six months into the governor’s tenure to run for U.S. Senate.
Prior to coming to work for Wolf, Brunelle worked with SEIU, first as its executive director of its Pennsylvania State Council and later as its campaign director, where he led the organization’s programs in 26 states. Before that, he worked on various political campaigns in New Hampshire and served as a state representative in that state.
“I cannot overstate how much Mike Brunelle will be missed or how much our caucus enjoyed working with him as a liaison to the governor,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County. “Mike served his office with absolute integrity; as chief of staff he was a man of his word and the model of an honorable public servant. I wish him nothing but the best in his next role, where I’m sure he will continue to make Pennsylvania proud.”
Leaders of the Republican majorities in Pennsylvania’s Senate and House also described Brunelle as a good governing partner to work with, calling him a straight-shooter. They wished him well in his next professional endeavor.
“You cannot overstate his importance,” said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County. “He came in at kind of a tumultuous time for the governor and, the fact that probably 90% or more of Pennsylvanians don’t know who he is is a good thing, tells you how good he is at his job.”
Corman went on: “He was always a straight shooter. Would do the things he could do, wouldn’t do the things he couldn’t do. Would tell you. But he was a person who wanted to get things done, and that’s important. I think the governor’s first chief of staff wanted to further her political career.
“I think Mike Brunelle wanted to further the governor’s political career by getting accomplishments. And that’s to his credit.”
“Nice fellow. He’s always been good for me to work with,” said House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County. “Hopefully he’ll stay until we get through the budget cycle.”
Corman said he would like to have seen Brunelle stick around to finish out Wolf’s tenure in office, adding, “He’s lasted longer than most.”
Swails was the second person to serve as Wolf’s budget secretary following Randy Albright’s departure at the end of Wolf’s first term in office.
She came to the post after accumulating nearly 20 years of fiscal and policy experience. She previously served the commonwealth in the Governor’s Office of the Budget, the Department of Human Services and the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee.
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