Jan Brewer continued to fill out her gubernatorial staff, naming Richard Bark as her deputy chief of staff for policy and Joe Kanefield as her general counsel.

"Both of these gentlemen will play key roles in my judicial appointments and in areas of constitutional law," Brewer stated in a press release Jan. 5.

Bark, a partner at the law firm Gallagher & Kennedy, has known Brewer since the mid-1980s. He first met then-Sen. Brewer in 1987 while working as an intern for the state Senate Judiciary Committee, and later served as majority counsel for the Senate while Brewer was serving as majority whip. During his internship, Bark said, Brewer "kind of took me under her wing."

"She's a great developer of talent, and people have stayed loyal to her through the years for that reason," Bark told the Capitol Times in early December.

Bark also served as director of policy for the majority in the state House of Representatives.

Doug Cole, the deputy director for operations and communications on Brewer's transition team, said the governor-in-waiting "thinks the world" of Bark, whom he described as having a "brilliant policy mind" and a "keen legal mind."

Kanefield worked for five years under Brewer in the Secretary of State's Office as her elections director. He also worked for Betsy Bayless, Brewer's predecessor, and began a 10-year tenure at the state Attorney General's Office in 1995 when he served under former Attorney General Grant Woods. Kanefield currently serves as the second vice president of the State Bar of Arizona's board of governors, and teaches law at the University of Arizona.

More personnel announcements for Brewer's gubernatorial administration should be forthcoming over the next week, Cole said. Brewer is still seeking communications personnel and a legislative liaison, as well as policy advisors.

"We'd like to have those recommendations from the transition team by the end of this week so Mrs. Brewer can start interviewing folks for those positions," Cole said. The transition team, he said, is also continuing its interviews with agency director candidates.

In December, Brewer named Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne as her chief of staff, Maricopa County Chief Financial Officer Tom Manos as her deputy chief of staff for finance, and Arizona Corporation Commission Executive Director Brian McNeil as her deputy chief of staff for operations.

Bark, Manos, McNeil and Tyne are all members of Brewer's transition staff.

Brewer, who has served as secretary of state since 2003, is slated to become governor when Gov. Janet Napolitano resigns to join President-elect Barack Obama's administration as secretary of Homeland Security. Napolitano has said she will continue serving in her post until she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, meaning Brewer likely will not ascend to the Ninth Floor until February.