Pawlenty names chief of staff, corrections commissioner

ST. PAUL -- Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty named his longtime friend and colleague, Charlie Weaver, as his chief of staff on Thursday.

Weaver, who served as commissioner of public safety under Gov. Jesse Ventura, led Pawlenty's transition team and helped assemble the Republican governor-elect's cabinet. The two have a long history -- they've known each other since law school and remained close over the years.

Weaver, a former five-term state representative from Anoka, started in the Legislature four years before Pawlenty. Both men are former prosecutors and since shortly after Sept. 11, Weaver has served as the state's director of homeland security.

Though Weaver served in the Ventura administration, he never joined the governor's Independence Party. He attended GOP events and conventions throughout his tenure as public safety commissioner.

Pawlenty on Thursday also named Joan Fabian as corrections commissioner, a position previously held by Sheryl Ramstad Hvass, whom he appointed as a judge on the Minnesota Tax Court. Fabian is currently director of the Ramsey County Community Corrections Department.

The governor-elect also named Eric Magnuson as chairman of the Commission on Judicial Selections, which screens and evaluates candidates for judgeships.