Two of Democrat Dan Malloy's closest confidantes - state Sen. Andrew McDonald and political strategist Roy Occhiogrosso - will be joining the new administration.
McDonald will step down as a state senator in order to become legal counsel for Malloy in a repeat of the days when he served as corporation counsel for the city of Stamford when Malloy was mayor.
Occhiogrosso, who worked for Malloy in his gubernatorial campaigns in 2006 and 2010, will serve as senior advisor - handling communications and political strategy.
They are both currently serving as members of Malloy's transition team, and McDonald's prominence was shown in the first transition meeting when he was sitting next to chief of staff Timothy Bannon - two seats from Malloy - in a large room with about 45 members of the transition team. They will both report directly to Malloy.
Occhiogrosso, who lived in the village of Rockville Centre on Long Island and graduated from public high school in Queens, N.Y. before attending UConn, is one of the most loyal fans of the New York Jets football team in all of Connecticut. He rarely misses a game and will even travel out of state to see his beloved team.
Malloy and Occhiogrosso are so close that Malloy performed his friend's wedding ceremony to Erin M. Ryan on August 26, 2006. Malloy had just finished a bitter gubernatorial primary campaign against New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and had run numerous television commercials in which the candidates are required to say they approved.
At the end of Occhiogrosso's wedding, Malloy said, "I'm Dan Malloy, and I approve this marriage.''