Adam Joseph, former spokesman for Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz ’83, will have a new home for the holidays — in an office at City Hall.

Joseph is set to begin his tenure as Mayor John DeStefano’s legislative liaison today, where he will serve as the link between the Mayor’s Office and the Board of Aldermen.

The appointment follows Paul Nunez’s November departure to a position working under state representative Chris Donovan. Nunez had been the city’s legislative liaison since March 2007. City spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said it is the role of the legislative liaison to work with the Board of Aldermen on the passage of municipal legislation and facilitate communication between the legislative and executive branches of local government.

Joseph, 27, is not new to serving under DeStefano; he worked on the mayor’s ultimately unsuccessful 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

Board of Aldermen President Carl Goldfield said Joseph has been in the process of “reaching out” to local aldermen in recent weeks, though he does not begin in official capacity as legislative liaison until today.

Joseph’s appointment for the $68,500 per year position comes at a time when insufficient city employment funds have caused dozens of layoffs in recent months. DeStefano said in October he would consider instituting a hiring freeze on new employees. But Goldfield said Joseph’s position is indispensable to the functioning of the city government.

“He’s the point guy between the mayor and the Board. There’s a tendency to take that kind of pronouncement literally,” Goldfield said, referring to the possible hiring freeze, “but there’s always going to be exceptions to the rule. This is an essential position.”

In addition to Paul Nunez, former legislative liaisons include Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smuts ’01 and Deputy Economic Development Administrator Chrissy Bonanno ’01.