| Is this person no longer a chief of staff? Please contact us with any updates. | Blake Brickman Basic facts Role:| Former chief of staff Location:| Frankfort, Ky. Affiliation:| Republican Education:| •Vanderbilt University •University of Kentucky Law School Prior Experience Chief of staff, Matt Bevin gubernatorial administration, 2015-2019 Blake Brickman is a Republican lawyer and political advisor in the state of Kentucky. Brickman served as chief of staff for Gov. Matt Bevin (R). Brickman was named to the position after Bevin was elected in November 2015.[1] He served until Bevin left office in December 2019. ## Contents * 1 Career * 1.1 Education and law career * 1.2 Jim Bunning advisor * 1.3 Andy Barr U.S. House campaign, 2014 * 1.4 Matt Bevin chief of staff * 2 Chief of staff * 3 Recent news * 4 See also * 5 External links * 6 Footnotes ## Career[edit] ### Education and law career[edit] After graduating with a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from the University of Kentucky, Brickman began practicing law in Lexington, Kentucky, and has worked for the firm Dinsmore & Shohl.[2] ### Jim Bunning advisor[edit] Brickman began working with Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) in 2002 as Bunning's legislative assistant for military issues. In 2004, Brickman was the political director for Bunning's re-election campaign. In 2006, Bunning named Brickman his chief of staff.[3] ### Andy Barr U.S. House campaign, 2014[edit] In 2014, Brickman was campaign manager for Rep. Andy Barr's (R-Ky.) campaign for U.S. House. Barr won with 60 percent of the vote.[4] ### Matt Bevin chief of staff[edit] On November 12, 2015, Bevin announced that Brickman would serve as his chief of staff.[1] According to USA Today, while working with Bevin, Brickman served as Bevin's defender in handling press reports. The paper reported in March 2017, "Brickman is well-known as Bevin’s attack dog when it comes to the media. He fires off angry missives and calls editors ... and complains of perceived slights."[5] In a June 2017 opinion piece for the Northern Kentucky Tribune, Brickman wrote that the press was holding Bevin's agenda back, saying, "Unfortunately, for Kentuckians, defenders of Frankfort’s old status quo are not going away without a fight. They work in tandem with their allies at the Herald-Leader and the Courier-Journal, trying to belittle and outright end Kentucky’s progress through the promotion of 'fake news.' These self-proclaimed defenders of truth and justice have their recipe of distraction down pat. Their secret to success? A game of 'guilty until proven innocent.'"[6] Brickman served as chief of staff until Bevin left office in December 2019. ## Chief of staff[edit] See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff In 2017, Ballotpedia identified Blake Brickman as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda. The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):[7] * Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar; * Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues; * Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and * Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public. In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."[7] ## Recent news[edit] The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Blake Brickman'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles. Blake Brickman - Google News ## See also[edit] * Matt Bevin ## External links[edit] * Blake Brickman on LinkedIn ## Footnotes[edit] 1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lexington Herald-Leader, "Matt Bevin names Lexington lawyer Blake Brickman to be his chief of staff," November 12, 2015 2. ↑ KYForward, "Lexington attorney Blake Brickman named chief of staff for Gov.-elect Matt Bevin," November 12, 2015 3. ↑ VotesSmart, "Bunning Names Blake Brickman Chief Of Staff; Long Time State Director Debbie McKinney As Deputy Chief Of Staff," May 3, 2006 4. ↑ Northern Kentucky Tribune, "Lexington attorney Blake Brickman named Bevin’s chief of staff; served same role for Jim Bunning," November 12, 2015 5. ↑ USA Today, "Bevin's adviser not a hopeless bromantic," March 16, 2017 6. ↑ Northern Kentucky Tribune, "Blake Brickman: Voters tired of status-quo elected Matt Bevin, but misleading news persists," June 25, 2017 7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 National Governors Association, "The Many Roles of the Governor’s Chief of Staff," accessed April 20, 2021 v • e Influencers Main| What is an influencer? • National influencers • Local influencers • Influencers by type • Influencers by legal type • Influencers by policy By state| Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming * * * Contact the Ballotpedia team