Gov.-elect Parris N. Glendening is expected today to name as his chief of staff Major F. Riddick Jr., the first black to hold that job in Maryland history, sources said.
The soft-spoken Mr. Riddick has served as chief county bTC administrator for Prince George's during the last four years of Mr. Glendening's tenure as county executive there.
Mr. Glendening also is expected to name other members of his inner circle today at a news conference in Annapolis. A spokesman declined to discuss the appointments, but sources said Mr. Glendening will retain three members of the Schaefer administration as deputies to Mr. Riddick. They are Frederick W. Puddester, the deputy budget secretary; Buddy Roogow, deputy staff executive; and Carolyn D. Davis, an assistant secretary at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The governor-elect is expected to name another Prince George's County official -- Michele T. Rozner -- as a fourth deputy under Mr. Riddick. She is the county's director of citizen and consumer affairs and is married to Annapolis lobbyist Joel Rozner, former chief of staff to Mr. Glendening.
These are the first staff appointments announced by Mr. Glendening, who eked out a victory last month over Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey in the gubernatorial campaign.
The governor-elect has been meeting during the last two days with key legislative leaders at a retreat in Cecil County.
Mr. Glendening discussed ambitious plans for his administration, ranging from a tax cut in the third or fourth year of his term to an overhaul of the state's computer systems.
Mr. Glendening told lawmakers that he was sticking to his pledge to hold the increase in state spending next year to roughly 4 percent, even though state revenues are projected to grow by nearly twice that amount, legislators said.
Mr. Riddick, who is one of 12 members of Mr. Glendening's transition committee, had been widely expected to assume a key role in the new administration.
Before serving as chief administrator, he held several positions for Prince George's County, including budget director, head of the Department of Housing and Community Development, and executive director of the housing authority.
He is responsible for the daily operations of Prince George's County's 6,000 employees and oversees the county's $1.6 billion budget.
Mr. Glendening praised Mr. Riddick in a 1991 article in the Washington Post, saying he was tapped for the job for the "confidence I have in him as an adviser and his experience and professionalism in county government."
"The fact that he is a . . . leader in the black community is a nice addition to the total administration," Mr. Glendening said at the time.
Efforts to contact Mr. Riddick were unsuccessful.
Mr. Puddester, a widely respected budget expert who worked for the legislature before joining the Schaefer administration, is expected to help oversee the administration's spending plans, sources said. He declined to comment last night.
Mr. Roogow is expected to maintain his mostly administrative role in the Glendening administration. A former Howard County administrator, Mr. Roogow joined Gov. William Donald Schaefer's staff as director of operations in 1991.
Mr. Roogow, an Ellicott City resident in his mid-40s, declined to comment last night.
It could not be learned yesterday what Mrs. Rozner's and Ms. Davis' responsibilities would be.