In the latest upheaval at the mayor’s office, Mayor Katie Wilson’s communications director, Seferiana Day, is out. Day, who was out of the office for nearly two months due to a medical issue and has been on intermittent leave, was asked to resign after turning down an offer to take on a new role overseeing council-mayor relations, according to sources. The office will also undergo an internal reorganization, reassigning existing staffers to new positions and making Esther Handy Wilson’s permanent chief of staff (Handy is currently serving in an interim role.)
Wilson’s office announced the changes to staff at a meeting Thursday morning. An internal announcement from Wilson said that Day is “stepping back from her day-to-day duties as Communications Director to focus on her health.”
Wilson’s office has not hired a replacement for Day, although they are currently in discussions with a person who would fill the role on an interim basis; PubliCola is not publishing that person’s name unless they decide to take the job.
Day was out on medical leave during many of the mayor’s so-called gaffes, including her flippant response to the prospect of wealthy people leaving Seattle because of the so-called millionaire’s income tax.
Prior to joining the mayor’s office, Day was the longtime spokeswoman for the city’s Office of Planning and Community Development; before that, she was a longtime communications consultant and a cofounder of Upper Left Strategies, a campaign consulting firm.
According to internal sources, Wilson and others in her inner circle have been frustrated that she has not garnered more positive press for some of her initiatives, including the announcement that the city will help fund construction of the long-delayed Graham Street light rail station.
At the same time, some members of the mayor’s staff have expressed concern that Wilson hasn’t articulated a clear vision on a number of issues, such as gun violence, public safety, and tenants’ rights; when Wilson recently considered rolling back renter protections, including a provision of the just cause eviction ordinance that allows people to add roommates, some staff members were appalled.
Others have questioned some of Wilson’s hires, noting that some are out of step with the politics that got Wilson elected or are not subject-matter experts in the areas they are overseeing.
Perhaps in an effort to address the latter issue, Wilson also announced an internal reshuffling of her staff this morning that will move four current staffers into new positions as “subject-matter Directors,” according to her announcement.
Mark Ellerbrook, currently deputy director of city operations, will oversee human services and homelessness; Nicole Vallestero Soper, currently the director of policy and innovation, will be the director of affordability, housing, and economic development; Hannah McIntosh, one of six “executive operations managers,” will oversee mobility, livability, and city infrastrucutre; and Alison Holcomb, the mayor’s chief advisor on public safety (and one of those five executive operations managers) will become the director of public safety.
Sejal Parikh, a former longtime staffer for City (and now County) Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, will move from her current job (deputy director of policy and innovation) to a new job as “deputy chief of staff for strategy and AI.”
The communications office is reportedly despondent about Day’s departure. PubliCola has heard that this won’t be the last shakeup; Wilson’s office is currently working on an office-wide reorg, which could result in additional staffers being asked for resignations.
In recent months, Wilson’s chief homelessness and housing advisor, Jon Grant, left after being asked to resign. Kate Kreuzer, her chief of staff and a longtime friend, was moved into a newly created special projects position.
We’ve asked the mayor’s office for more details about the reorg and will update this post if we hear back.