Governor has already chosen her next chief of staff

Public Affairs Secretary Jean Peña Payano

Appointee to be announced ‘at the appropriate time’ 

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has already chosen the next chief of staff at La Fortaleza and will announce the appointment once the administration completes its transition process, Public Affairs Secretary Jean Peña Payano said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, Peña Payano confirmed that the governor has made her selection but intends to reveal the name at the appropriate moment. His comments came as current La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández prepares to leave office on Aug. 7, followed by Deputy Chief of Staff Itza García Rodríguez on Aug. 15. Both officials, he noted, should already be engaged in transition work with their successors.

Peña Payano added that the upcoming announcement will also include the new executive director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, noting that both positions are central to the administration’s fiscal and operational continuity.

He defended the decision not to implement an immediate transition, stressing that the complexity of Puerto Rico’s government requires careful planning.

“A government cannot be run from one day to the next,” he said, pointing to the statutory transition process that follows electoral changes as an example of why such shifts must be deliberate.

Peña Payano emphasized that the transition must ensure uninterrupted government operations, ongoing negotiations with the Financial Oversight and Management Board, and the management of the consolidated budget and agency responsibilities. Internal evaluations and meetings related to the transition are already underway, he said.

The allegations that prompted the resignations began when Puerto Rico’s former economic development chief Sebastián Negrón Reichard resigned in May and accused the González Colón administration of interfering with the work of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. More than 10 other officials -- including the agency’s chief of staff, general counsel and finance chief -- also resigned.

In mid‑July, a special independent prosecution panel broadened a probe that initially centered on former officials at the Permit Management Office, formally adding Domenech and García to determine whether either may face criminal or administrative consequences.