July 5, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cameroon: State Government: University Administration: Baltimore Sun: Cameroon RPCV Tom Lewis to be director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Institutions
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July 5, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cameroon: State Government: University Administration: Baltimore Sun: Cameroon RPCV Tom Lewis to be director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Institutions
Cameroon RPCV Tom Lewis to be director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Institutions
For the past 11 years, Lewis, 48, has served as top aide to two speakers of the House of Delegates - spending eight years with Casper R. Taylor Jr. and, most recently, three years with Michael E. Busch.
Cameroon RPCV Tom Lewis to be director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Institutions
Top aide to 2 House speakers is leaving
Annapolis: After 11 years in a powerful legislative role, Tom Lewis is calling it quits.
By David Nitkin
Originally published Jul 5, 2005
MUCH OF THE heavy lifting in government gets done by people about whom the public never hears.
That's why the name Tom Lewis is not widely known outside a certain circle in Annapolis.
For the past 11 years, Lewis, 48, has served as top aide to two speakers of the House of Delegates - spending eight years with Casper R. Taylor Jr. and, most recently, three years with Michael E. Busch.
The position has made him one of the most powerful staffers in Annapolis. He has served as gatekeeper, negotiator and advocate. His fingerprints mark some of the most significant pieces of legislation of the past decade, including environmental and economic development packages and Medicaid reform efforts.
A quiet presence in the State House, Lewis is also one-half of one of Annapolis' behind-the-scenes power couples.
His wife, Victoria L. Gruber, is a top aide to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. So breakfast table conversation in their household could often determine much of the course of the state's $26 billion budget.
Some have quietly grumbled that Lewis wields too much power. But the overwhelming opinion in Annapolis is that he is a dedicated public servant adept at representing the interests of majority House Democrats - especially in its frequently contentious dealings with the state Senate.
Last week, Lewis announced he would be leaving state government, where he has worked since 1983, except for a two-year stint in the Peace Corps.
A major factor in his decision: the taxing hours demanded by the legislative position, especially for a family with two young children.
He has accepted a job as director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Institutions, which includes the Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Health System.
"Tom has made a tremendous contribution to public policy and provided a great benefit to the citizens of the state of Maryland," Busch said in a statement.
Lewis said it was "a very hard decision to leave my work with the legislature, and Mike Busch," but he called the chance to work for Hopkins an opportunity too good to pass up.
Two other lawyers in the speakers' office, Kristin Jones and John Favazza, will assume Lewis' duties.
When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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Story Source: Baltimore Sun
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Cameroon; State Government; University Administration
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