Risa Heller, a former press aide to Chuck Schumer, has been named by Gov. Paterson to replace Spitzer holdover Christine Anderson. She'll make $175,000.
She's 27. Her resume includes stints with Rep. Jane Harman of California, Rabinowitz Media, Hadassah and the Anti-Defamation League, and currently Global Strategy Group, an NYC politico/corporate pr firm. It's unclear whether she's ever worked for a news organization -- none is listed on the resume. She's generally described as an insider, attention grabber, Blackberries, stuff like that.
Here's a profile, in which she enthuses about her role in helping Schumer convince everyone that it was a security risk to have a worldwide port operator from Dubai take over port contracts in the US. Since there was no evidence that the firm had ever been responsible for any security problems, there were those who thought the whole campaign relied on fanning anti-Arab fervor.
Heller left Schumer last year, moving to Global Strategy, whose prominent political clients included ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer (his top political aide Ryan Toohey ran the communications department with Heller) and Democrat Darrell Aubertine, who just won a North Country Senate seat from the GOP in a special election. Other luminaries on the roster: 1199, the big health workers union; the Gates Foundation; the National Cable and Telecommunications Association; Glaxo SmithKline; and Empire Blue Cross.
One interesting element is the Schumer background. Spitzer and Schumer were cool to each other, because Schumer's Wall Street friends thought Spitzer was too hard on them. Not to attach too much importance to a communications director -- but maybe this is a hint that Paterson will have a warmer relationship with the senior senator.