Lisa Brown names chief of staff, city spokeswoman and more leadership positions as she prepares to take office

Dec. 29—Incoming Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown announced her third batch of cabinet-level appointments Friday, most of whom are being retained in their current positions.

Among the two new hires, Brown has tapped Erin Hut as the new city spokeswoman, replacing the Mayor Nadine Woodward administration's Brian Coddington. Hut currently works as a spokeswoman for the Washington Senate Democratic Caucus, and previously worked in management roles for local news stations KXLY and KREM, as well as 9 News Denver.

Alex Scott will be brought on as Brown's chief of staff, a role Coddington also informally held for the Woodward administration. Scott has worked for two years as a federal policy specialist for the state Department of Commerce, an agency Brown led until resigning earlier this year to run for mayor. Scott previously worked as the Eastern Washington Director for U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) as well as in various roles for the Spokane City Council, state Democratic Central Committee and as a legal intern for the state Senate.

Woodward was never able to formally promote Coddington to the position of chief of staff due to disputes with the City Council, which approves the city's budget and argued that the position couldn't be funded. The position was reclassified from within the mayor's office, and Scott's hiring will not impact the office's budget, wrote Mark Fox, senior account director for Desautel Hege, the consulting company that managed Brown's mayoral campaign and has continued to provide public relations for the incoming mayor after the election.

Jason Conley will be formally tapped as interim director of Parks and Recreation, a role he has been filling since parks head Garrett Jones was appointed in June as interim city administrator, which in turn was necessitated by the sudden resignation of former City Administrator Johnnie Perkins amid a sexual harassment investigation. Brown previously announced she intends to retain Jones in that interim position until a permanent candidate is identified.

Brown also announced Friday that she intends to retain six others in their current leadership positions. Steven MacDonald will continue to lead the Community and Economic Development division, Sarah Nuss will continue as director of Emergency Management, Marlene Feist will remain director of Public Works, David Moss will continue as director of Human Resources and Mike Sloon will remain interim chief innovation and technology officer. Andrew Chance will also continue to serve as executive director of Spokane Public Libraries.

Brown has previously announced two prior batches of cabinet hires. Assistant Police Chief Justin Lundgren agreed to lead the Spokane Police Department on an interim basis. Lundgren will temporarily replace outgoing Police Chief Craig Meidl, who announced shortly after the November election that he would resign from the department at the end of the year. Meidl had recommended that Lundgren assume the role of interim chief.

Maggie Yates, who ran unsuccessfully last year for a seat on the Spokane County Commission as a Democrat, has agreed to serve as assistant city administrator, a position that did not exist under the Woodward administration.

Brown also intends to appoint Assistant City Attorney Mike Piccolo to the position of Spokane city attorney and elevate the director of the Office of Civil Rights, Equity and Inclusion, which is held by Director Jerrall Haynes, to a cabinet-level position.

Of the 14 leadership roles that have been announced by Brown, 11 currently work for the city. Among the three coming on — Yates, Scott and Hut — all are affiliated with Democrats.

"The team Lisa has built is a reflection of her collaborative style and her career," Fox wrote in an email when asked about Brown's sourcing of talent from Democratic circles.

"Most of the department directors joining us were hired by previous administrations," Fox added. "Like Lisa, these folks bring broad networks of connections and deep expertise across local, state and national circles. They've worked successfully at many levels, across public and private sectors, and in partisan and nonpolitical roles."

Brown still has a number of leadership positions to announce, including chief financial officer, a position currently held by Tonya Wallace, who Brown stated during the campaign she intended to replace. Kim McCollim, director of the city's Neighborhoods, Housing and Human Services division, also recently tendered her resignation. Brown has also not announced whether she intends to retain Spokane Fire Department Chief Brian Schaeffer, who did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

"We are quickly and carefully filling the remaining leadership roles," Fox wrote. "We expect to be ready with those announcements in the first part of January."