Jerry Brown staff exodus continues
SACRAMENTO -- Yet another member of Gov. Jerry Brown’s team is packing her bags.
Elizabeth Ashford, who served as the governor’s top deputy press secretary, has announced she is leaving the administration next month.
Ashford was one of a handful of staffers in the Brown administration who also worked for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, where she served as chief deputy Cabinet secretary. Immediately before joining Brown’s staff, she worked as a spokeswoman for BP during the Gulf oil spill.
Ashford’s departure follows a series of resignations of top Brown staffers, including his top administrative aide Jim Humes, senior policy adviser Julie Henderson and press secretary Gil Duran.
Duran resigned his post last month and has still not been replaced. Ashford’s departure leaves Brown’s already spartan communications operation even more short-handed.
In an email, Ashford, who plans to work as a communications and public affairs consultant, said family concerns and timing factored into her decision. “With Prop. 30 passed and the budget balanced, the time is right,” Ashford said of her departure, noting the voter approval last fall of the governor’s tax initiative. “”I’m indebted to the governor and Anne for the opportunity to work here over these incredible two years.”
Brown has long had a reputation for going through communications staffers. During his first two terms as governors, eight different people served as Brown’s press secretary.
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