Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said that a series of staff moves made today reflect a "reorganization" of his office and the need to take several positions in "a new direction."

The shift of administration spokesman Dick Skrinjar into a Parks Department role, and the possible move of Director of Intergovernmental Relations Anna Dobkin to the Planning Department and Senior Secretary Marlene Cassidy to an as-yet-undisclosed post mean that nearly all of the late Mayor Bob O'Connor's team is gone from the mayor's office eight months after his death.

Mr. Ravenstahl called the moves, which he said he decided on this morning, "a re-prioritization of what I feel the needs are in the office" rather than a reflection on the service of the three individuals.

"They all did an admirable job as public servants," he said. "It's common to have this type of turnover" at a certain point in a new mayor's administration, he said.

All three have been offered jobs that pay less than what they earned in the mayor's office, he said, but he would not characterize the moves as demotions.

Mr. Skrinjar said his role will be overseeing senior activities and programming. "It's a new challenge. It's a new era," he said. "The seniors are the foundation of what America's Most Livable City is built on."

Mr. Skrinjar, formerly a PennDOT spokesman, handled media relations during the late Mr. O'Connor's successful 2005 campaign. When Mr. O'Connor came down with a rare nervous system cancer, the task of navigating the narrow channel between the public's right to know and the family's right to privacy fell to him.

He earned $72,091. The city has several supervisory positions related to senior activities paying between $44,241 and $66,740.

Ms. Cassidy worked with Mr. O'Connor when he was a councilman, was his aide during a stint as Gov. Ed Rendell's representative in southwestern Pennsylvania, and then the mayor's powerful senior secretary in charge of scheduling.

She lives with former city Operations Director Dennis Regan, who resigned in December amidst accusations -- never proved -- that he quashed disciplinary action against Ms. Cassidy's brother, police Officer Francis Rende.

She also earned $72,091. Mr. Ravenstahl would not confirm that she was offered a post at a city-related authority.

Ms. Dobkin planned Mr. O'Connor's inauguration and was very involved in organizing his funeral. She worked for Visit Pittsburgh while he was mayor, then joined Mr. Ravenstahl's team. The mayor would not confirm that she has been offered a position in the Planning Department.

"I have given [Ms. Cassidy and Ms. Dobkin] the opportunity to take the day off today and consider the positions," the mayor said.

The mayor called the moves "major changes. . . . In the short term, those are the moves I felt were necessary."

Remaining from Mr. O'Connor's team are Chief of Staff Yarone Zober, Finance Director Scott Kunka (who was budget director under the late mayor), and several department and bureau heads, most of whom are holdovers from Mayor Tom Murphy.

The mayor said he will move quickly to name a new press secretary, is trying to fill the long-vacant position of solicitor, and has not yet determined whether or how to fill Ms. Cassidy's and Ms. Dobkin's roles.

"I expected the mayor to begin to build out his own team," said Council President Doug Shields, a former aide to Mr. O'Connor when he was on council.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.