The duties performed by longtime congressional aide Lloyd Smith will be divided between staff leaders in Washington, D.C., and Cape Girardeau, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said Tuesday.

Josh Haynes, in-state director for Emerson, and Jeff Connor, administrative assistant in Washington, will share the title of chief of staff after Smith departs April 1 to take over as executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.

"Everything is going to operate more or less the same way it has," Emerson said.

Haynes will take on more responsibility for special projects and have a bigger role in making recommendations on policy issues, Emerson said. Connor will concentrate on policy and managing the Washington office while he retains his role as communications director, she said.

"It is good to balance things off," Emerson said.

Josh Haynes

The top priority for the district office will be to improve constituent services, Haynes said.

Both men said they were confident they could work as a team. The staff operation works because the employees get along, Connor said.

"I have managed a lot of people in my previous life, and we really have good people," Emerson said. "They really do get along, and they all respect one another."

Both men understand their duties and their roles, Connor said.

Connor and Haynes, who are close in age at 32 and 33, respectively, both joined Emerson's office in 2003. Haynes was hired in April, while Connor took over as communications director July 1 of that year.

Connor began his career in Washington as communications director for U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., where he worked for three years before joining Emerson's staff. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Connor and his wife, Emily, live in Arlington, Va.

The position with Emerson in 2003 came at a time when Connor said he was considering leaving Congressional staff work. "I had to decide whether to stay on the Hill or not," Connor said. "Working for Jo Ann made that decision easy."

Haynes landed his position with Emerson after working on Republican campaigns in Missouri in 2002, where he met Smith. He was nearing graduation from a master's degree program in divinity from Truett Seminary at Baylor University in Texas. Born in Dallas, Haynes grew up in Kansas City and attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. He and his wife, Heather, have two children.

The divinity degree was not intended to lead to a life in the pulpit, even though his father was a Baptist minister, Haynes said.

Salaries for the new positions have yet to be settled, Emerson said. Smith received $162,803 during the year that ended Sept. 30. Connor, who was on the payroll of the House Appropriations Committee and assigned to Emerson's office, received a salary of $110,712 during the same period while Haynes received $68,400 as district director.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

555 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO