Incoming New York mayor begins filling top administration jobs

By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio began selecting his incoming administration on Wednesday, naming a veteran in management and public policy to become first deputy mayor. Anthony Shorris, 56, is former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the region's shipping terminals, bridges, tunnels and airports. More recently he has been senior vice president, vice dean and chief of staff at the NYU Langone Medical Center. "We are going to deliver progressive and effective leadership that sets the standard for cities across the country," Shorris said in a statement. "We have waited a long time for this progressive moment, and I am incredibly excited to join our new mayor and this team to take this city in a new direction." De Blasio said at a downtown Manhattan news conference that Shorris will be at the forefront of his administration. "This will be the person I turn to to run the day-to-day operations of government. This will be the person who will have my imprimatur to help make sure that our agenda is implemented each and every day in the government," he said. Still to come are such high-profile appointments as the next commissioners of the New York Police Department and Fire Department of New York. De Blasio will be filling the top posts at more than 50 city agencies, including schools chancellor. De Blasio, a liberal Democrat who won his new job in a landslide election last month, takes office on January 1, succeeding three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Shorris comes to the job with a substantial resume, having also served as director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, professor of practice at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School Public Service at NYU and chief operating officer and executive vice president of Healthfirst Inc. Shorris also was a commissioner of finance for the city, deputy chancellor for operations for the city's Department of Education and deputy budget director. De Blasio also named Dominic Williams as Shorris' chief of staff. Williams has been de Blasio's own chief of staff in his current role as the city's Public Advocate. He also named Emma Wolfe as director of intergovernmental affairs. She was his deputy campaign manager and political director. (Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Gunna Dickson)