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On Monday afternoon, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson asked her newly appointed homelessness czar and longtime former chief of staff, Chris Fick, to resign from his appointment to help lead the county’s homelessness initiatives. Fick agreed to her request, and his resignation is effective on Tuesday.
Fick’s resignation came as WW is preparing to publish a story examining allegations by six former and current county staffers that he repeatedly bullied women employees at the county.
“I wanted to share with you directly that I asked Chris to resign and he did so,” Vega Pederson told WW in a Monday afternoon email. “I’m committed to building a team that is in line with my values and the values of Multnomah County. It has become clear to me that changes were needed. While there have not been any findings of wrongdoing, I want to make sure that these issues don’t distract from the critical work at hand.”
“Prior to very recent conversations,” she continued, “I had heard about isolated examples of conflict in a highly stressful work environment. In each case that had been reported to me, I took action to ask questions, make adjustments to my team and be clear about my expectations and the need for action around mediation, training and coaching.”
Vega Pederson says Ryan Diebert will act as interim homeless response system director, the position to which she appointed Fick in mid-January.
The newly created position, which was never advertised or made available to prospective applicants but instead filled by Fick’s appointment, will help coordinate the county and city’s joint plan to alleviate homelessness.
“I believe new leadership is required in this critical role to see this important work through,” Vega Pederson wrote.
In an email, Fick said he denies “the general allegations” and says “at no time did the County apprise me of any pattern of behavior which included demeaning, rude or sometimes belittling conduct towards female staffers nor was there ever an investigation.”
“Even in your questions, no detail is provided to allow me to identify any communications or interactions with anyone to provide an informed response,” Fick wrote. “As a result, I deny the general allegations and it is my intent that the Chair and the County can spend their limited time focused on the County’s many responsibilities to our community. I valued all of my colleagues.”
As of Monday afternoon, county spokespeople had received of WW’s questions and were working to respond to them.
Fick received $25,384 in severance pay and one month of health insurance coverage.