Deal announces staff transitions

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced staff transitions within his administration.

Bart Gobeil, the state’s chief operating officer since 2011, will serve as director of economic development and state government affairs at the Georgia Ports Authority beginning July 1. David Werner, Deal’s deputy chief of staff of legislative and external affairs, has been tapped to replace Gobeil. Werner has worked for Deal since 2010 in various roles, including public policy adviser and deputy executive counsel.

Deal’s legislative affairs liaison to the state House of Representatives, Tom Willis, will depart the governor’s office on June 1 to run Georgia Leads, a 501(c)(4) organization. As an issue advocacy group, Georgia Leads will spearhead initiatives of critical importance to Georgia, including passage of the 2016 Opportunity School District ballot amendment.

Bart Gobeil

Before joining the Deal administration, he was chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. He has also worked as the director of government relations at AGL resources, an Atlanta-based natural gas company, and as the legislative liaison and public information officer for the Georgia Public Service Commission. He worked on the staff of the late Sen. Paul Coverdell, first as Southeast Georgia regional representative and later as a legislative assistant in the Washington office. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Atlanta.

David Werner

Prior to joining Deal’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Werner held staff positions in both the House and Senate in the General Assembly as well as campaigns on both the local and state level. During his tenure in Deal’s administration, he’s served as co-chairman of the Governor's Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform.  He has also served as co-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia. In 2014, Werner took a leave of absence to work on Deal’s successful re-election campaign. He currently is a member of the Federalist Society and a member of the alumni board for the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. Werner earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Georgia and his law degree from Emory University. He and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Atlanta and are members of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.

Tom Willis

Willis began his career as an intern in Washington, D.C. in Deal’s congressional office. After working on the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Willis worked in various capacities in Deal’s administration, including special assistant to the governor and as a local government liaison. In 2013, Willis left that position to manage Deal's re-election campaign. Most recently, Willis served as executive director of Deal's Inaugural Committee. A Gainesville native, Willis is a graduate of Sewanee University of the South and lives in Atlanta.