Thomas Kean, Jr., who officially becomes the Senate Minority Leader on Tuesday, is expected to name James Harkness as the Executive Director of the Senate Republican Office.  Harkness served as Chief Counsel to Governor Donald DiFrancesco and was a top staffer in the State Senate (when the GOP had a majority of seats) before joining Riker Danzig, a politically powerful law firm.

Harkness replaces John Samerjan, who had held the post under John Bennett and Leonard Lance.  Kean chose not to retain Samerjan, who is expected to remain as a senior advisor until he becomes fully vested in the state public employee pension system.