Seattle Mayor Wilson names Esther Handy interim chief of staff in senior staffing shakeup

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is reshuffling her senior staff, naming Esther Handy as interim chief of staff and shifting other roles within the mayor’s office as the administration continues to refine its internal structure.

In a statement to her team, Wilson said Handy will step into the interim chief of staff role while former chief of staff Kate Brunette Kreuzer transitions into “a new special projects role within the office” and continues to oversee intergovernmental affairs work. Wilson said she is “deeply grateful to Kate,” calling her “instrumental in creating a strong internal culture” and “a key leader in launching my new administration during a fast-moving transition period.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Seattle mayor’s verbal missteps prompt national and viral attention, leadership questions

Wilson also said the mayor’s office is “centralizing our council relations under Deputy Mayor Surratt, in partnership with our council liaison Tracey Whitten.”

Wilson said she assembled a team with a mix of experience inside and outside government and that the early phase of the administration has included “learning what works well and what may need to change in order to continue to effectively move forward on our key priorities.” According to Wilson, Handy will continue an ongoing process “to assess and make recommendations related to our staffing capacity and team structures.”

Wilson said Handy has more than a decade of local government experience, most recently as an executive operations manager in the mayor’s office and formerly as director of council central staff. Wilson also cited Handy’s organizational development experience, including serving as an interim executive director at Puget Sound Sage and the Washington Budget and Policy Center.

While I understand change can be unsettling,” Wilson said, “I want to assure all of you of that it is common for a new administration to refine its internal staffing roles.

Wilson also noted two additional departures planned since the beginning of her term. She said that in early July, Jen Chan, director of city operations, will complete a six-month commitment with the office and return later this summer to her deputy executive director role at the Seattle Housing Authority. Wilson said Edie Gilliss will also wrap up a six-month commitment as director of the mayor’s office operations and pipeline in early July and return to her role as government affairs and policy director with the Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Wilson said her focus remains on “expanding shelter, making our city more affordable, livable, and safe, creating irresistibly good transit, and building a more inclusive and accountable government.”

Staff shakeup comes after turbulent times in mayor’s office

The staff shakeup comes after a series of verbal missteps by Wilson that prompted national and viral attention, along with questions about her leadership.

On April 28, gunfire erupted near the Yesler Community Center during an event attended by Wilson, prompting security to escort her to safety. No injuries were reported, and police have said there is no indication the shooting was targeted.

In the days after the incident, Wilson said she was “doing great” and described the shooting outside the Yesler Community Center as “a reminder of how much work we have to do” on gun violence. When asked whether the experience changed her views on city policy, including surveillance measures, she initially declined to engage and later indicated her position had not fundamentally shifted.

Wilson later addressed the surveillance policy question on May 5. “I believe that CCTV cameras have an important role to play in our public safety system, and we also have to be very careful to make sure that our data storage and sharing practices don’t make that system vulnerable to misuse or abuse,” she said.

During another exchange with KOMO News on May 1, a junior Seattle Public Utilities staffer interrupted questioning and insisted the conversation remain focused on an event and “on topic,” suggesting a separate interview be scheduled. The moment mirrored a separate on-camera interaction in which Wilson declined to comment on Starbucks moving jobs to new corporate office space in Nashville, saying it was not the topic of her press conference.

The mayor also drew attention after she laughed aside concerns about wealthy individuals and businesses leaving the city, responding with a “bye” when she was asked during an April event at Seattle University whether she was concerned the policy could prompt wealthy residents and businesses to leave Washington state.

However, she praised major employers, including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, for contributing millions of dollars toward affordable housing and homelessness programs during a May 7 event for the redevelopment of the Brighton housing community near Rainier Avenue, striking a notably collaborative tone after recent national attention surrounding her criticism of large corporations and support for new business taxes.