Fred Kiga
SEATTLE — Mayor Ed Murray appointed Fred Kiga as chief of staff on Aug. 10. Kiga will take over from current Chief of Staff Mike Fong on Sept. 5, and serve the remainder of Mayor Murray’s term. He comes to City Hall after five years at Vigor Industrial. Ahead of Kiga’s appointment, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced Fong will become the County’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Fred has more than two decades of experience serving our community, from the state level to the private sector and more,” said Murray. “He will be a fantastic addition to this team, as we make this year as productive and successful as our first three. While we are excited for Fred to come aboard, we will miss the steady leadership and wit Mike has brought to this office and to the City. Simply put, Seattle is a better place because of his service and he has been an invaluable part of my administration. I want to thank Mike and wish him well as he moves forward.”
“I am excited to join Mayor Murray’s team, as we sprint through the finish line with major initiatives still in play this year,” said Kiga. “From finalizing our homelessness RFP to KeyArena and Seattle Center, and to the Waterfront, affordable housing and our progressive stance against the Trump administration, we have so much more work to do. Seattle has thrived under Mayor Murray’s leadership and I look forward to continuing that work.”
Kiga has served as chief of staff to Gov. Gary Locke and in senior positions at Amazon, Boeing, Russell Investments, and Vigor Industrial. He has bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Washington and has served on the board of directors for the YMCA of Greater Seattle and Arcora.
Mike Fong
Fong leaves City Hall after 16 years of service to the City, including his final two as chief of staff for Murray. He started as a legislative aide to Councilmember Heidi Wills, before joining Councilmember Tom Rasmussen’s office, and then Council central staff. Fong first served in the Murray administration as the Deputy Director of the Office of Policy and Innovation and has overseen major milestone as chief of staff, the implementation of Pathways Home to address our homelessness crisis, and the shift to using performance metrics to measure success across city investments.
“It has been an honor to serve in Mayor Murray’s administration, as we have made incredible strides toward making Seattle a more equitable city that is open to everyone,” Fong said.
Fong’s final day in the Mayor’s office will be Sept. 1. Kiga will officially begin as chief of staff on Sept. 5, with a salary of $181,301.