New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's longtime chief of staff Helmy to leave this month

George Helmy, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s longtime chief of staff, is leaving his influential post at the end of the month, according to the governor.

“The news, with a heavy heart, is that … George Helmy is at long last moving on,” Murphy said in a brief phone interview.

Helmy, whose role has made him one of the state’s most powerful unelected political insiders, took on the role in February 2019 after serving as state director and deputy New Jersey chief of staff for Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and, before that, as an aide to the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. He left his job in the Murphy administration to work on the governor’s reelection campaign for a few weeks in 2021.

When Helmy, a Jersey City native, became chief of staff, the relationship between the governor and the Democratic-led Legislature was at a low-point. It was seven months after a budget showdown brought them to the brink of a state government shutdown and as the Legislature held tense hearings about the Murphy administration’s handling of staffer Katie Brennan’s sexual assault allegations against another administration staffer, Al Alvarez, during the 2017 campaign.

The relationship has since improved markedly, including between Murphy and South Jersey Democrats — clashes which dominated much of the state political news cycle in the first half of the governor's first term.

Murphy credited Helmy with helping accomplish “everything” the administration has done since 2019.

“There’s almost nothing I can think of that he doesn’t have his fingerprints on. He’s an exceptional talent,” Murphy said.

The governor, whose motto is “A Stronger and Fairer New Jersey,” said that "whether it’s the stronger or fairer part of it, George has been intimately involved.”

Murphy said he’s not sure Helmy has made a decision on what he will do next, but that he plans to keep him in his inner circle. “We will stay very close. I see him as a key adviser in all matters, but I also see him as responsible for relationships outside of government — political, especially,” Murphy said.

Helmy is frequently credited with smoothing out the relationship between the two branches of government. According to a report, Helmy is the longest-serving gubernatorial chief of staff in state history.

Helmy, 43, was nominated and confirmed earlier this year as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and plans to remain in that role, Murphy said. His departure from the Murphy administration has been expected for some time.

State Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti — who’s been in the Murphy administration from its beginning in January 2018 — is the leading candidate to succeed Helmy, according to a person with knowledge of the hiring process who was granted anonymity to discuss internal matters.