Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Monday named Suzi Emmerling as his director of communications.
Emmerling, who replaces Naomi Seligman, was deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Obama administration after serving for two years as an adviser and director of public affairs to former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
Garcetti’s office declined to offer details on Seligman’s Sept. 25 departure — which had not been previously announced — other than to say she had moved on from working for the mayor.
Seligman’s Twitter account and LinkedIn page still list her job as Garcetti’s director of communications, but she could not be reached for comment. She had served as Garcetti’s communications director since May 2015.
Prior to her time at USDOT, Emmerling was a regional press secretary on the 2012 Obama for America campaign and press secretary for the Host Committee for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Garcetti’s office also said she has worked to advance progressive policies at the local, state and federal levels in Los Angeles and during her time on the press team at the Center for American Progress.
“Suzi is a proven leader with experience and skills that will be tremendous assets to my administration,” Garcetti said. “I look forward to working with her to advance my agenda for a city that makes a difference in the lives of Angelenos. I am proud to welcome her back to L.A. and onto my team.”
–City News Service