Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s top advisor is stepping down months before his boss exits City Hall. Wheeler’s Chief of Staff Bobby Lee said Tuesday he is resigning to take care of his aging parents in South Korea. His last day will be Monday, September 30.
The mayor’s Deputy Chief Sara Morrissey will take over for the remainder of Wheeler’s term, which ends on December 31.
Lee leaves City Hall at a significant moment, just months before the city shifts to a completely new form of government. He also leaves on the heels of a controversy regarding his use of city dollars for a pet project.
Lee joined the mayor’s office in January 2021, when Portland was still a staging ground for nightly racial justice protests and gun violence rates were at a historic high. He told OPB he believes he is leaving the city in much better shape.
“Today, Portland has stabilized,” Lee said.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks at a press conference at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, in Portland in this April 2, 2024 file photo. Wheeler’s chief of staff, Bobby Lee, has announced his resignation to take care of his aging parents in Korea.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Lee’s annual salary is just over $170,000.
From his seat in the mayor’s office, Lee established a program now called Portland Solutions, which centralizes the city’s work connecting unsheltered Portlanders to shelter and addressing graffiti and trash in public spaces. He called the program his biggest accomplishment.
“We have built a foundation for success, now it’s up to the next mayor and city council to build on it,” he said.
In November, Portlanders will elect a new mayor and a brand new 12-person city council. Wheeler is not running for reelection, and his successor will have a different job description. That’s because of voter-approved changes to Portland’s form of government, which place the mayor in a more administrative role than a legislative one.
Lee offered several pieces of advice to the next mayor.
“You have to build the right team and you can’t take anything personally,” he said. “You also have to juggle two things well: You have to make sure the government provides high quality service each day and you have to have the government solve complex, on-the-ground issues in real time. The public needs both.”
His announcement does follow a minor scandal: In August, Willamette Week reported that Lee had directed city agencies to spend $60,000 on a public mural created by the niece of Lee’s ex-girlfriend. Lee maintains he didn’t violate city policy.
Lee said he’s stepping down voluntarily, and wasn’t asked by the mayor to leave.
In a statement, Wheeler called Lee “invaluable.”
“He played a crucial role in advancing our city’s initiatives and ensuring the smooth operation of our office,” Wheeler said. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
