By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 21, 2006; GZ03

A s Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett continues to round out the ranks of his cabinet this month, he is getting advice about how to shake up the structure of county government.

Leggett and chief administrative officer Timothy Firestine are talking about an initiative to reorganize top-level jobs, but that won't happen until after the new executive puts his spending plan to bed this spring.

On inauguration day, County Council member George Leventhal (D-At Large) called for the creation of an office of interfaith liaison to "help our houses of worship navigate the bureaucracy and bring together our many different traditions and many different cultures."

Leventhal has also suggested that Leggett create two other outreach positions, for nonprofit groups and the gay and lesbian community. To Leggett, it's a matter of money.

"I think there may be ways to address it with less resources," he said in a recent interview. "It's something we'll look at to make sure those concerns are covered. But to justify three separate positions for that will be a stretch."

Leggett has already floated the idea of elevating the finance director's role to chief financial officer and creating a high-level director of public safety to oversee departments such as police, fire and homeland security.

He has also mulled the idea of converting the directors of the county's regional centers into political appointees who serve at the will of the county executive. The offices are meant to serve as the executive's eyes and ears in the community. Leggett would have to submit legislation to the County Council to change the positions.

Maryland may have lost Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) on the House Ways and Means Committee with his elevation to the U.S. Senate, but Rep. Chris Van Hollen's (D-Md.) office has announced that he will be picking up where Cardin left off on the powerful committee that oversees tax and trade policy.

House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also tapped Van Hollen this week to lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which will oversee the party's recruitment and fundraising efforts for the 2008 election cycle.

In preparation for last month's elections, Van Hollen worked closely with the outgoing chairman, Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), in helping the party win control of Congress. He led Democrats' efforts to recruit House candidates and will be charged with trying to protect and expand the party's narrow majority.

Pelosi praised Van Hollen's "depth of legislative experience and political savvy," and said in a statement, "I am confident he will build upon the success of our outstanding chairman Rahm Emanuel and lead our efforts to strengthen our Democratic majority."

Van Hollen becomes the second member of Maryland's House delegation to be elevated to a prominent role in the new Congress. House Majority Leader-elect Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said he "highly recommended" Van Hollen for the job.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who worked side-by-side with Van Hollen on the campaign committee, said she was most impressed with his attention to detail in the districts where the party was recruiting and spending money. Van Hollen could recall details about a candidate's family, she said, and "what made them tick."

"When you're trying to convince someone to give up their life as they know it and convince them they can and should run, it requires a lot of knowledge," she said. "It shows that he's got what it takes to take it to the next level."

Montgomery's Democratic Central Committee has elected Aruna Miller, a county government engineer, and Linda Plummer, a past president of the county chapter of the NAACP, to serve on the county committee.

Miller takes a vacant at-large seat, and Plummer will serve on the statewide committee in addition to holding a nonvoting position on the local committee.