Out-of-work D.C. political operatives, mostly refugees from the Biden-Harris administration and Democratic National Committee, have found a welcome home with Mayor Brandon Scott.

New hires at the mayor’s communications office include the former personal aide to “Second Gentleman” Doug Emhoff, a onetime top honcho for the DNC, an ex-White House researcher and a young speechwriter.

All were hand-picked by Kamau Marshall, a top alum of the Biden and Harris for president campaigns, who Scott hired last January as his chief communications officer and chief strategist, replacing Bryan Doherty, who was elevated to deputy chief of staff.

The team’s apparent mission: to build up Scott’s national profile during his second term through social media and campaign-like marketing.

Their initial impact was evident during Scott’s recent State of the City address.

Taking to the darkened stage with his wife and two young children, then pacing solo back and forth under the spotlight, Scott went for a TED-Talks-with-swagger vibe.

His upbeat recitation of Baltimore’s future of declining crime and rising population contrasted sharply with recent warnings by his own city administrator, delivered within the confines City Hall, of a looming budget deficit and spending freeze.

The speech unveiled a new motto for Baltimore – “Built Different, Building Different” – and a slogan for the mayor’s $3 billion plan for ridding the city of vacant housing – “Reframe Baltimore.”

On Instagram, Tracy Falon King, the former DNC outreach coordinator who’s become Scott’s deputy comms director, explained the origins of the “Built Different” campaign this way:

“Baltimore has a unique identity and because of that, there is a need to tap in to unique strategies to move us forward. The speed is a must watch.”

68% Budget Increase

The key to the transformation of the comms office was money.

After winning the Democratic primary last May, Scott increased its budget by nearly 70%, from $631,000 in FY 24 to the present $1,062,000, which opened the door to the new hires led by Marshall.

Born in Chicago, Marshall lived as a child in Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Birmingham before his preacher family settled down in Georgia. After graduating from Texas Southern University, he joined the 2012 Obama reelection campaign as a field organizer.

From there, he rose through a multitude of political positions in Washington. He was an aide to Delaware Senator Tom Carper, worked for Texas Congressman Al Green and served briefly on the staff of the late Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.

His big break came as director of strategic communications for the winning Biden for President ticket in 2020.

He was named U.S. trade representative for media and public affairs and later assigned to the U.S. Department of Education before returning to the Biden White House as a senior advisor. When Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Marshall assumed the same position for Kamala Harris.

In all, he lists 15 positions in his LinkedIn profile between 2012 and his January 2025 hiring by Scott.

Limited Availability

So far, his tenure as the $180,000-a-year comms chief has been low key.

Marshall is rarely seen by other cabinet members and his interactions with reporters are limited (he declined to meet with The Brew and has not responded to our press questions).

He did give an interview to the AFRO, telling them, “I’m looking at the city from every angle with a bird’s view, looking at all the different agencies that report up to the mayor and all the different offices within the mayor’s office.”

More importantly, he said he was making sure that the mayor’s messaging about trash pick-ups and water billing “is getting across, and that all the residents of Baltimore City know what’s happening.”

• Top priority for Mayor Scott’s second term: Better control of media messaging (9/26/24)

In return, Scott gave Marshall an enthusiastic thumbs-up to the online publication Quintessential Gentleman, saying his “skills and experience working in fast-paced and high-stakes environments are very important and are a critical reason why we are glad he is onboard with us” in the era of Donald Trump (who Scott trashed last week in a national press call with the Democratic Mayors Association).

“Spending part of his childhood in Baltimore and attending Waverly Elementary School means something to the city. He is now back again and part of a team writing a chapter of the Baltimore renaissance,” Scott added.

Campaign Veterans

The $135,000-a-year deputy comms director also has a campaign background.

As DNC’s director of outreach communications, Tracy King developed the “I Will Vote” ads that targeted Black voters last year in over 100 Black media markets. The campaign featured radio spots from Kerry Washington, LeToya Luckett-Coles, John Legend and Stevie Wonder.

Prior to the DNC, she handled press relations for The Collective PAC, which recruits, trains and supports Black candidates for public office.

Silas Woods III, Scott’s new press secretary, got his first taste of public service as a vetting researcher for Vice President Kamala Harris. He later gained attention from the White House press corps when he donned a Howard University sweatshirt while Harris, a Howard alum, lauded the role of HBCUs at a Roosevelt Room gathering.

Last spring, he was enlisted as the personal aide to Second Gentleman Emhoff. Following Harris’s defeat in November, he stayed on as her lame-duck deputy press director.

Working alongside Woods is Jonas Poggi. The ex-White House intern and DNC research associate was named “press secretary for rapid response and research,” a newly created $75,000-a-year post.

Olivia Eggers rounds out the expanded comms team (there are four holdovers from Scott’s first term). An intern for Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer (D, 5th) and a former U.S. Department of Energy employee, she will lend her oratory skills as Scott’s new speechwriter.