Coleman appoints interim development director

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman has named Boyce Safford, his deputy chief of staff, the acting director for the city's Development Department.

Safford takes over a job vacated by Mark Barbash, who Monday joined Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's administration as chief economic development officer, the No. 2 post in the state Department of Development.

Safford, 46, will oversee a department with 350 employees and an annual budget of $48 million.

"Boyce Safford has proven himself as one of the best in the business as my top adviser on economic and neighborhood development, and he's got what it takes to keep our Development Department on track," Coleman said in a statement.

Safford joined the Coleman administration in 2001 and was named deputy chief of staff in January 2005. Before that, he was a development coordinator for Columbus Urban Growth Corp., a city-affiliated developer.

The city has two other positions to fill in its Development Department. William Graves, Columbus' housing administrator under Barbash, took a job as director of Ohio Development Department's Community Development Division. The city also said Trudy Bartley, the Development Department's deputy director, is leaving for a job in the private sector.