Topping off a list of noted politicos shifting jobs recently, lobbyist Thomas A. Palangio has left his job with the City of Providence, months after the city’s legislative package was shut out at the General Assembly.

Mayor David N. Cicilline’s spokeswoman, Karen Southern, said Palangio was not forced out. “He decided to leave to pursue other interests,” Southern told Political Scene.

Palangio, a former state representative, left his $75,000-a-year job as director of intergovernmental relations two weeks ago.

Cicilline offered him another job, an administrative position in the Department of Inspections and Standards, but Palangio turned it down, Southern said.

This spring, Cicilline had sought an extensive package of bills from the General Assembly, most allowing Providence to levy a series of new fines and fees in lieu of raising taxes. The city also hired a private lobbying firm to supplement Palangio’s work at the Assembly.

But nearly all the Providence bills were rejected, and Cicilline had to raise taxes by the maximum amount allowed to balance the city budget.

At the time, several City Council members criticized the job Palangio did — and questioned whether he was doing it at all — if the city found it necessary to hire an outside firm.

“If it was lobbying, then he didn’t do a very good job of it. He doesn’t get a very good grade on his efforts,” said Councilman John J. Lombardi.

Palangio did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him over several days for this story.

Southern said Palangio’s job may not be filled. The city is looking at restructuring the way it handles its lobbying, she said, and may change the nature of the position or decide instead to employ private lobbyists, among other options.

Palangio spent 1993 to 2002 as a Democratic state representative from Providence, and rose to the rank of deputy majority leader. He owns extensive real estate in Providence, and operates Consumers Auto Sales, a used-car business on Manton Avenue.

Ganim named Senate’s director of policy

The Senate policy office has a new $103,568-a-year director: Marie L. Ganim.

Well known in State House circles for her years of behind-the-scenes work on some of the biggest issues a legislature tackles in any state, Ganim, 53, of Lincoln, has been the Senate’s point person on health and human-services policy since 1999.

Before that, she held similar roles as director of health and human services policy for former Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy, policy director for former U.S. Rep. Robert Weygand and project manager for the Rhode Island Long Term Care Coordinating Council.

With an undergraduate degree in political science from Providence College, a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University and a doctorate in public and international affairs from Northeastern University, Ganim is currently moonlighting as an unpaid assistant professor of community health at Brown University.

In their announcement of Ganim’s appointment late last week, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, described her as “passionate about the issues” and Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano, D-North Providence, said she “embodies the broad depth of knowledge and experience that are crucial to this position.”

Ganim is moving into a position held for the last decade by Kenneth Payne, who left in mid-September to “devote his primary energies to analysis of structures of governance and development issues affecting Southeastern New England.”

In a goodbye e-mail to colleagues, Payne wrote: “Why you may wonder have I decided to move on? The answer is simple, there are other ways to frame and address the issues that confront State and the Southeastern New England region, and I wish to explore how this can be done. I am retiring? Definitely not, I am planning to work as hard as ever for the next decade, and then I’ll reassess. Will I be going away? No, not exactly, I’ll still be available to work on complex issues for the Senate on a consulting basis with the approval of the leadership.”

Treasurer adds staff

The state treasurer’s office confirmed Friday that it has recently hired two new staffers — one of whom is a familiar face on Smith Hill.

Cay C. Massouda has taken a job as a $45,931-a-year senior legal administrator. A State House regular in recent years, she occupied a basement office with the state’s Law Revision Office until 2005.

The treasurer’s office tells Political Scene that Massouda most recently worked as chief legal counsel for Media Boston, an international public relations and consulting firm based in the Hub.

The treasurer’s other new staffer, Maryann Pernorio, comes to state government from the private sector.

On paper, Pernorio appears to be more than qualified for the $45,773-a-year position of retirement counselor: She holds an MBA from Harvard’s Graduate School of Business, and has served as finance director for Providence Energy and more recently for Lifescan Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company in California.

You may also know Pernorio, 44, from her bicycling adventures.

In 2001, Pernorio rode her bike from Oregon to New Hampshire — a trek of almost 3,600 miles that raised $51,000 for the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island. She averaged 80 miles each day during the 50-day journey.

Ex-Miss R.I. goes to D.C.

Her heart may be in Rhode Island, but former Miss Rhode Island Allison Rogers’ brain is working for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Washington, D.C.

The 25-year-old Rhode Island native has moved to the nation’s capital to work for Pelosi’s “Green the Capital” initiative. Rogers, who recently held a similar position with Harvard University’s sustainability office, has committed to the new job in Washington for at least six months.

She’ll work with Capitol Hill staff to ensure they adopt energy-conscious practices such as shutting off computers at night.

Leaving the Ocean State wasn’t easy.

“To be truthful, I was sort of torn. The whole reason I decided to run for Miss Rhode Island really was because I wanted to give back in service to my home state. I felt like that’s where you make the difference — on the local level,” she told Political Scene. “On the other hand, I see it as such great potential when you change the minds of the people creating legislation for the people of our country.”

Rogers, who had focused on environmental issues during her reign as Miss Rhode Island, gave up the crown to Ashley Bickford, of Newport, at the end of June.

Rogers expects to return to Rhode Island, but isn’t sure when.

“I feel like my work in Rhode Island wasn’t done,” she said. There’s so much I still wanted to contribute.”

Women in politics

Several noted female politicos plan to attend a fundraiser later this month titled, “The Untold Story: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Women in Rhode Island Politics.”

Among those planning to attend the event are former gubernatorial candidate Myrth York, former Secretary of State Susan Farmer and former congressional candidate Jennifer Lawless.

The fundraiser precedes a daylong training program “Vote, Run, Lead,” which is part of a national movement to increase the number of women in political leadership. Organizers hope to demystify the political process and inspire women to take action in their communities.

Incidentally, there are 22 women in Rhode Island’s General Assembly — seven in the Senate (including Majority Leader Paiva Weed); and 15 in the House. Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts is the only female among the five general officers.

There are 50 open spots for the Oct. 20 training program, hosted by the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and the White House Project.

GOP refueling

The state GOP is counting on a fundraiser at Governor Carcieri’s summer home in Saunderstown to plump up its coffers.

With ticket prices ranging from $50 per person to $90 per couple to $500 for “a sponsor,” party spokeswoman Donna Perry anticipated last night’s event would raise between $10,000 and $12,000 for what Rhode Island’s ever-hopeful but persistently outnumbered GOP is calling “A Bridge To Rhode Island’s Future.”

As of June 30, the Republican State Central Committee had $39,471 left in its account after paying staff salaries, rent and fees to fundraising consultant Aaron McGarry’s Chase Consulting, in Thompson, Conn. ($4,000) and the Allied Group in Cranston ($3,615). Both firms had roles in the state party’s e-mail and donor-letter solicitations.

(Rhode Island Democrats, by contrast, ended the last quarter with $76,523.72 in the bank.)

By last Friday, the Republicans had a reported $65,000. But spokeswoman Perry acknowledged the jump since the last quarter ended was largely attributable to an infusion of state income-tax checkoffs.

Mollis elected to board of secretaries of state group

Apparently one election wasn’t enough for A. Ralph Mollis.

After winning his bid for secretary of state last fall, Mollis ran this summer for a seat on the executive board of the National Association of Secretaries of State, and was elected by the association membership.

Mollis was sworn in as vice president for the eastern region — which covers Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the New England states — during the organization’s annual meeting in Portland, Ore., this summer.

He is one of 11 members of the board that oversees the organization’s activities including election administration, business services, e-government and governmental relations with Congress and the White House.

He is one of two first-term secretaries of state to serve on the board.

The board president, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, said Mollis distinguished himself in part with his Voters First initiative, which convened a committee that conducted a series of community hearings on election reform proposals, and which Mollis has said will produce legislation to be introduced next session. Mollis “demonstrated real leadership” through the initiative, Rokita was quoted as saying in a news release from Mollis’ office.

“This seat gives Rhode Island a national voice on election reform and the presidential primary, among other issues,” Mollis said in the release. “I look forward to playing an active role in having our state influence national policies that affect how Americans govern themselves.”

dbarbari@projo.com