On Tuesday, a day after he announced that Kim McDougal would leave her post as his chief of staff on July 1, Gov. Rick Scott turned to Jackie Schutz Zeckman, announcing that she will take over the position.
Scott praised Zeckman on Tuesday, insisting she will be able to help his efforts during his final year and a half as governor, noting she had been with him throughout his tenure in Tallahassee.
“Jackie has been on my team since my first year in office and has done a great job leading my communications efforts and conveying my vision of Florida as the best destination for families and businesses,” Scott said. “Along with her work on my communications team, Jackie was an integral part of my reelection efforts and has continued to be a trusted advisor in all aspects of implementing our agenda for Florida. I have full confidence that she will do an outstanding job as my chief of staff.”
Zeckman started as Scott’s deputy press secretary and moved up to become his press secretary in his first term. When Scott ran for a second term in 2014, Zeckman worked as his deputy communications director. In Scott’s second term, she has been his communications director and chief spokeswoman. Before that, she worked with CoreMessage.
As she gets ready to take the reins from McDougal, Zeckman will be Scott’s sixth chief of staff. Starting his first term in 2011, Scott turned to Mike Prendergast and then Steve MacNamara as chiefs of staff. In late 2012, Scott named Adam Hollingsworth to the post. In December 2014, Scott turned to Melissa Sellers who had been his communications director and the campaign manager of his successful reelection bid. McDougal took over the position in April 2016 but she announced on Monday that she would resign at the start of July to explore opportunities in the private sector.
