Governor-Elect Announces Transition Staff Appointments

RICHMOND- Virginia Governor-elect Bob McDonnell announced a number of appointments to his gubernatorial transition staff today. McDonnell made appointments in the areas of policy, personnel and administration.

The transition appointments are listed below:

Janet Polarek- Deputy Director, Personnel and Administration
Polarek was Chief Operations Officer in McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. She was Director of Administration in the Office of the Attorney General, and before that managed McDonnell’s 2005 campaign for Attorney General. Janet also has worked on Capitol Hill as a Press Secretary and has run numerous campaigns in Virginia.

Eric Finkbeiner- Director of Policy
Finkbeiner served in both the Wilder and Allen administrations before joining McGuireWoods Consulting. He is an attorney who served as executive director of Governor Allen's Commission on Parole Abolition and Sentencing Reform and advised Governor Allen on transportation, environmental, and anti-crime issues. Eric also served as communications director for Governor Douglas Wilder’s Task Force on Violent Crime.

Melissa Laughner- Assistant Director for Policy
Laughner served as Policy Director for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. Prior to the campaign she was Special Assistant for Governmental Affairs in the Office of the Attorney General.

Mike Reynold- Assistant Director for Policy
Reynold was a Deputy Campaign Manager for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. He was Virginia State Director for McCain for President in 2008. Prior to that Mike was the Executive Director of McDonnell for Virginia. He received his law degree from The Pennsylvania State University.

Jasen Eige- Counsel
Eige was Counsel to McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, Eige served as Chief of Staff and Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General.

Dave Rexrode- Director of Community Outreach
Rexrode was a Deputy Campaign Manager for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. He has held high-level positions in Virginia campaigns for over a decade, including serving as a Campaign Manager for Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Delegate Chris Saxman and Senator Mark Obenshain.

Monica Block- Scheduler
Block served as scheduler for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. She has previously worked on campaigns for former Virginia Congressman Tom Davis and former Virginia State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis.

Adam Zubowsky- Aide
Zubowsky served as Fairfax Field Director for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. He has worked on campaigns for Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf (R) and the National Fraternal Order of Police Legislative Center