BRUNSWICK — U.S. Senator-elect Angus King has appointed longtime aide and campaign manager Kay Rand to be his chief of staff, King confirmed Tuesday.

As chief of staff, Rand will be King’s top aide, overseeing his Senate office and the staffers who work there, from interns to legislative aides.

The move had been widely expected in political circles. Rand served as King’s chief of staff throughout his two terms as governor and managed both his gubernatorial campaigns and this year’s Senate campaign.

Rand, a managing director at Bernstein Shur Government Solutions, is a former lobbyist for the Maine Municipal Association and served as deputy commissioner in the Office of Comprehensive Land Use Planning under Gov. John McKernan. Rand grew up on a potato farm in Ashland and is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine. From 2008 to February 2010 she wrote a monthly column on state politics for the Kennebec Journal.

King also said he would be retaining Patrick Doak, office manager in Washington for outgoing Sen. Olympia Snowe. Doak, originally from Caribou, has served as office manager and systems administrator for Snowe for many years.

King said his staff is working to finalize other staff appointments over the next week.

For the time being, King will be working from 188 Russsell, a basement office in the Russell Senate Office Building, according to his spokeswoman, Crystal Canney. She said it was a temporary office, and that King expected to receive his long-term office assignment in May.

Staff Writer Colin Woodard can be contacted at 791-6317 or at:

cwoodard@pressherald.com

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