HAMMOND | Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has named Planning and Development Executive Director Richard Calinski as his new chief of staff, effective Monday.

Calinski, 31, replaces Marty Wielgos, chief of staff to McDermott since he took office in 2004. Wielgos resigned in mid-March, citing personal reasons.

"I'm just humbled and honored by the opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge," Calinski said Tuesday. "It's an exciting time to live and work in the city of Hammond. We've made a lot of progress in the mayor's years of leading the city."

Like Wielgos, Calinski has served in the McDermott administration since its beginnings, first as special events coordinator for the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

In the fall of 2005, Calinski was named economic development director under then-Planning and Development Executive Director Peter Novak Jr., assisting Novak on some of the city's top redevelopment projects.

He assumed Novak's position in May 2007 when Novak moved into the private sector in the top post at the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.

McDermott said he has known Calinski since he was a student in the business law class McDermott taught at Purdue University Calumet, always doing an excellent job.

A lifelong Hammond resident and graduate of Gavit High School, Calinski holds an undergraduate degree in business management and is in the midst of earning a master's degree in business administration.