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Persily will serve in Washington as associate director for oil, gas, renewable energy, commerce and transportation. Persily will work for John Katz, director of the governor's D.C. office.

"The issues I'll be working on are issues I've spent years on," he said.

According to the governor's office those issues include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, natural gas pipeline, outer continental shelf development, pipeline corrosion, international trade, Arctic Council, surface transportation, aviation, telecommunications, commerce, renewable energy and finance.

Persily acknowledged he and the Republican governor did not agree personally on all subjects.

"I'm a blue-collar Chicago Democrat, but the job isn't about politics," he said.

Palin had earlier announced the hiring of another journalist for the Washington team, Sam Bishop, Washington reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, to handle fisheries, environment and natural resources issues.