Budish hires AJ Stokes as majority chief of staff

Ohio House of Representatives Speaker-elect Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) Friday named A.J. Stokes as majority chief of staff for the 128th General Assembly. It is Budish's first staffing decision for the caucus.

Stokes, 30, served as political director of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus. The House Democrats' announcement of the hire said Stokes was responsible for steering the campaign that won the first Democratic House majority in 14 years.

"I am very excited to begin my new responsibilities in the Ohio House of Representatives," Stokes said. "This is a challenging time in our state's history, but I am confident we can craft bipartisan solutions to the issues we face. I'm honored and humbled by the opportunity to work with the next Speaker of the House and his team to improve the lives of all Ohioans."

Budish talked up his relationship with Stokes, saying it will lead to success in the upcoming session.

"A.J. and I have a wonderful rapport that, I believe, will help lead to big accomplishments in the next General Assembly," Budish said. "He is an intelligent, hard-working, driven individual who brings great leadership, integrity and negotiating skills to the table."

Andy DiPalma, who served as minority chief of staff under Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern (D-Catawba Island) and current Minority Leader Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus), will become legislative director for the majority caucus.

"Andy's institutional knowledge, experience, and skills will be crucial as we navigate this next budget process and beyond," Budish said. "He will be a very important part of our team."

House Democrats said that announcements about other majority staff positions will be forthcoming.

Stokes is a Toledo native who graduated in 2001 with a political science degree from Ohio State University. He worked for six years in government affairs for the Teamsters before being hired as political director for the caucus. Stokes also worked with Gov. Ted Strickland’s 2006 campaign and was involved with Tim Kaine’s successful governor’s race in Virginia.