Kate McDonnell will return to the statehouse next month as the new chief counsel to Gov. Phil Murphy, a hugely influential post that makes her the gatekeeper for every bill that passes the legislature and every judge who gets nominated in New Jersey.
McDonnell was one of Murphy’s original senior staff members, joining the administration on inauguration day as deputy chief counsel. She spent five years in the counsel’s office, later becoming senior deputy chief counsel, before becoming counsel to Attorney General Matt Platkin. She is currently the deputy commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
“I am thrilled to welcome Kate McDonnell back to the Governor’s Office as my new Chief Counsel,” said Governor Murphy. “Her decades of service to the Garden State and her strong background in public policy demonstrate the ideal skillset to excel in this role,” said Murphy. “I look forward to working alongside Kate as we continue working to advance the goals of our Administration and build a stronger, fairer New Jersey.”
She will replace Parimal Garg, who is leaving on November 15 to become a partner at Lowenstein Sandler.
“Kate is brilliant, deeply versed in public policy, and the consummate team player. Her entire career has been dedicated to public service and her contributions to this state are already immeasurable,” Garg stated. “I know Kate will do an outstanding job as Governor Murphy’s chief counsel and solidify the Murphy Administration’s legacy of historic achievements.”
McDonnell began her public service career as an Assembly staffer. She joined as an associate counsel for nearly three years before becoming general counsel to the Assembly Majority Office in 2009, a post she held for nine years before joining the Murphy administration. McDonnell worked for four Assembly Speakers: Albio Sires, Joe Roberts, Sheila Oliver, and Vincent Prieto.
Bill Castner, a former chief counsel to Gov. Jon Corzine who hired McDonnell for her first job in the Assembly, called her a “smart and ethical attorney who possesses deep institutional memory and public interest experience.”
“Kate’s legal and policy work on affordable housing, in particular, has been enormously impactful to our communities,” Castner said. “Governor Murphy has made a superb choice in appointing Kate – a true professional and terrific person – as his next chief counsel.”
She will become the fifth woman to serve as chief counsel to a governor, following Jerry Fitzgerald English in Gov. Brendan Byrne’s administration, Deborah Poritz during Gov. Thomas Kean’s administration, and Margaret Foti and Harriet Derman under Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.
A former All-South Jersey swimmer, McDonnell grew up in a political home, where her father, Edward T. McDonnell, has served as a Camden County Commissioner since 1996. McDonnell is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Rutgers Law School; she also received a master’s degree in public affairs and politics from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers.
POLITICO first listed McDonnell as a likely successor to Garg.