Chief of Staff

Behind the scenes of the political mill at New York’s City Hall is Kevin McCabe, Chief of Staff to Council Speaker Peter Vallone. McCabe oversees the operation of the office and the council staff at large, and counsels on new legislation and its possible political ramifications. 

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. New York, Kevin McCabe is one of 12 children, so he said he learned politics at a very early age. With a background in public health, McCabe began to work for the Department of Health, and following a series of promotions was recruited by the Koch administration in 1989. 

A year later he was asked to work with the ground drawing up the new city council districts, and was subsequently offered a job by Speaker Vallone as director of operations. In 1994, McCabe became his Chief of Staff. He prefers to keep a low profile in order to be more effective, he said. 

Kevin McCabe is fourth-generation Irish American. “We hope to be in New York for the next four as well – there will always be a great Irish presence in New York,” he said. McCabe and his wife, Susan, have four children.