New Castle County Executive Thomas P. Gordon on Tuesday announced the appointment of Timothy Mullaney Sr. -- a longtime state justice official and former county attorney -- as the county’s new chief administrative officer, effective immediately.
“I am pleased to share this good news with New Castle County Council and the residents of this great county,” Gordon said. Mullaney is well-qualified to serve as county government’s second-in-command, overseeing daily operations, he said.
Noting Mullaney’s broad-based and widely respected public service, Gordon said, “Tim will work well with Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Samuel L. Guy and Chief of Staff Jim McDonald as part of my leadership team.” He also thanked Guy for serving as interim CAO.
Gordon said he is excited about the range of experience and personal leadership energy Mullaney brings to the management team, saying, “We have a lot of good work to do.”
During seven years in the Department of Justice, Mullaney served as chief of staff for the late Attorney General Beau Biden. He also directed the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division and oversaw the Special Investigations Unit, dealing with sensitive governmental investigations.
In his prior county service – for Gordon in 2002-04 -- Mullaney was responsible for operation of the county law office, managing a staff of 17 with a yearly operating budget of about $3 million. Earlier, he was presidentially appointed to the U.S. Marshals Service after serving as a Dover Police Department officer, commanding criminal investigations, the SWAT team and other units.
Mullaney -- a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm – graduated from Widener University School of Law and earned criminal justice degrees at Delaware State University and Delaware Technical & Community College.
He succeeds former Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi, who served from November 2012 through last month, with a $139,464 annual salary.
Mullaney said he welcomes the opportunity to work again with Gordon, as well as his current management team, saying he looks forward to “making New Castle County a better place for all its citizens.”