Deputy Mayor Phil Fujii has resigned his position effective this Friday, citing unspecified health problems. He had shoulder surgery this week and is out all week on medical leave.
In a letter to Mayor Mike McGinn, Fujii said it would not be practical for him to take the extended medical leave he needs given the demands of the job.
Fujii reportedly worked extreme hours at McGinn’s office, where he was the only staffer with extensive City Hall experience (he worked in the Department of Neighborhoods for 24 years). City hall sources say he seemed overwhelmed by the heavy demands of the job. (Office of Intergovernmental Relations director Marco Lowe spent most of two terms working for former mayor Greg Nickels, but he doesn’t work directly for McGinn).
Asked whether he would seek to appoint a replacement with Fujii’s breadth of government experience, McGinn said this afternoon that he would “take some time to take stock of our situation. There’s always a balancing of what characteristics you’d like to see and who’s available.”
It’ll be interesting to see what Fujii does next (and who replaces him); his old job as community relations manager at at Vulcan is still open.
