Clinton’s new chief of staff wants to “keep everything together”

By Randy Bell

Clinton Chief of Staff Breana Norton

Every U.S. president since Harry Truman has had a chief of staff. And, now, Clinton’s mayor has one. Perhaps overshadowed by the naming of a new fire chief and a new city attorney, Breana Norton was approved for that novel role in City government on July 1.

Norton, who was Mayor Will Purdie’s campaign manager during this year’s election, says, as chief of staff, she’ll be focused on streamlining the organization and maintaining communication among the City departments. As she puts it: “Making sure that nothing falls through the cracks. We just want to make sure that we stay on top of everything and keep everything together.”

She stresses that she has no authority over the department heads, who still report directly to the mayor.

“The organizational chart has not changed,” Norton says.

According to Purdie, “She’s outside the chain of command. She’s more just to assist me in the executive branch. Breana has, I think, a great background in strategic planning. [That’s] what this role entails. Organizational management and looking maybe to develop some efficiencies across departments and some synergy between departments.”

Norton took the $62,000 position after serving with Mississippi State University’s John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development.

“We did a lot of municipal training, leadership training and community development,” she says. “I kind of acted as a chief of staff in that role. I was a project coordinator, and I reported directly to our executive director, making sure that he knew about everything going on and streamlining the organization.”

Norton will also serve as the City’s special projects officer.

“The mayor and I have talked about several things that he would like to pursue that I need to get going on and research,” she says. “I’m still learning about what those projects are.”
But she said she is excited about the possibilities.

“I’m from Clinton. I have a deep passion for making Clinton succeed,” Norton said. “I think this is the best place on Earth, and I’m very excited to have a very small role in the City.”