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Scott's legislative affairs director, Jon Costello, to leave for job at WMD

 
Published Aug. 16, 2012

Jon costelloGov. Rick Scott's legislative affairs director, Jon Costello, will be stepping down to take a job as a board member of the North Florida Water Management District, the governor's office announced Thursday.

Costello, who joined the governor's office after working on the campaign, replaced Hayden Dempsey as the governor's chief legislative liasion a year ago. He had previously worked for the Tallahassee law firm of Rutledge, Ecenia and Purnell as a government consultant. No word on whether he will return to the firm as he accepts the WMD role. His resignation is effective September 7, 2012.

From the the governor's office press release:

"As Legislative Director, Costello was responsible for moving the Governor's agenda through the legislature, managing legislative affairs across Governor's agencies and assisting in policy development. During his two sessions as Legislative Affairs Director, Costello was largely responsible for driving a number of Governor Scott's major policy initiatives; including the creation of the Department of Economic Opportunity, Reemployment Assistance reform, workforce board accountability measures, regulation reduction legislation and tax relief.

"Jon has been a trusted advisor and an invaluable member of my team going back to my days campaigning to become Governor. Like me, Jon believes Florida must focus on creating jobs, improving education and keeping Florida's cost of living affordable. As my Legislative Affairs Director he has been extremely effective at articulating my priorities and getting reforms passed that accomplish these goals," said Governor Scott. "Jon has been a loyal member of my team and will be missed."

"To say that serving in the Scott administration has been an honor would be a vast understatement, it has truly been the opportunity of a lifetime. There are very few people who ever have the opportunity to work for such an accomplished, integrity driven man as he changes his focus from business to public service. Working for Governor Scott from the early days of the campaign to develop his vision for Florida's future and later being charged to shepherd those policy changes through the legislature has truly been the highlight of my career."