Two top aides have resigned from Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office in the past week.
Ferguson’s chief strategy officer Mike Webb resigned Wednesday morning following claims that he’d fostered a toxic work environment for some women in the governor’s office, The Seattle Times reports.
“I deeply regret that the allegations of a hostile work environment have created an unhelpful distraction that impacts the team’s ability to do their work, as well as my ability to be effective in the near term,” Webb wrote in a letter released by the governor’s office. “To be blunt, given the stakes of the work ahead, I cannot stomach that.”
Last week Ferguson’s legislative liaison, Joyce Bruce, also resigned. She’d reportedly raised concerns about a toxic workplace culture under Webb.
Ferguson said in a statement provided to McClatchy that he accepted Webb’s resignation Wednesday.
“Mike has worked hard on behalf of the people of our state, and I am grateful for his service,” Ferguson said. “As I have said, I wouldn’t be governor without Mike.”
Shane Esquibel, the governor’s chief operations officer, will now act as interim chief of staff, Ferguson said. Looking ahead, his office will reexamine its leadership structure.
Webb wrote in his resignation letter that he’s proud of what he and the governor had accomplished together over the years, including in the Attorney General’s Office. Ferguson served as the state’s attorney general from 2013 until becoming governor earlier this year.
Webb said that in his 12 years of public service, he was proud to have “never raised my voice or cursed in anger.” He said that he strove to “treat colleagues with civility” and adhere to the high standard Ferguson set.
State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, a Tacoma Democrat, previously said that she’d attempted to warn Ferguson’s office about how Webb treated women.
“I will always speak up and come forward when I hear any allegations of the mistreatment of women,” Trudeau said, according to The Seattle Times. “That is why, after I heard serious concerns from current executive staff and former campaign staff about a hostile and toxic workplace culture and specific stories about their own experiences with one individual, I went to the most senior staff person in the governor’s office and let them know.”
Another Democratic state senator, Mike Chapman of Port Angeles, had reportedly raised similar concerns.