Kruzan appoints new staff

Mayor-elect Mark Kruzan appointed a new staff for his administration Tuesday. The new staffers include Julio Alonso as director of the Department of Public Works, Patrick Murphy as director of the Utilities Department, Kevin Robling as Corporation Counsel and Ron Walker as director of Economic Development. The staff will begin work Jan. 1 when Kruzan takes office.\nKruzan said he is excited to begin working with the entire staff and is proud his team is in place three weeks before he officially becomes mayor.\n"Being the new kid on the block, it's reassuring to have such a strong team in place to help make the city a better place to live," Kruzan said. "Each and every appointment I've made is a person who cares about the community, could be making a whole lot more money in the private sector, and views public service as an honorable cause. I couldn't ask for more."\nKruzan said he was looking for people who could bring innovative ideas to the city, and he is confident that he's found the right people for the job.\n"It will be a great team," Kruzan said. "There is a tremendous wealth of talent in this group of people and a good mix of tenure with the city."\nRobling, the newly appointed Corporation Counsel, said he was taken aback when he got a phone call from Kruzan offering him the position.\n"I suspect there probably wasn't anyone more surprised at the phone call I got than I was," Robling said.\nRobling is currently wrapping up his service as dean of admissions for IU's School of Law. He said that after talking with his family and Kruzan, it took him about a week to accept the offer.\n"I'm absolutely excited about this opportunity, but at the same time this was a difficult decision," Robling said. "I've never quit a job before, especially a job that I've loved. I've got 650 students at the law school that I admitted and it was hard walking away from them. But at the same time, I'm excited to have this opportunity to work for the city I love."\nAlonso is currently the executive director of the Community Kitchen of Monroe County and received a bachelor of arts in political science and history from IU.\nPatrick Murphy, newly appointed director of the Utilities Department, said he is confident he can bring a lot to the administration.\n"This is not a surprise to me," Murphy said. "I was somewhat surprised he asked me to be director of Utilities, but I wasn't surprised to get the call. This position is about management issues and I feel I'm a confident manager. I think I have the experience and maturity that are important for this job."\nMurphy is the current deputy commissioner for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. He received a bachelor of arts in political science from IU.\nWalker has been a project manager with Strategic Development Group, Inc., which is a consulting firm based in Bloomington.\nKruzan said he is excited about bringing positive change to Bloomington and is eager to start working on that with his staff.\n"It's a very exciting time to be building a team to help me … implement ideas I expressed during the election cycle," Kruzan said.\n-- Contact staff writer Sarah Schwimmer at sschwimm@indiana.edu.