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Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon ended the week down two staffers.
Today was Debra Stark’s last day as Mayor’s Chief of Staff. On Monday, she moves into her new role as Executive Assistant to the City Manager. She will oversee Public Transit, among other city departments.
(And, boy, did she luck out! All three unions representing transit employees agreed to extend their contracts, which means they aren’t going to strike on Monday.)
It’s a great move for Stark, who was the Phoenix Planning Director for five years before landing in the Mayor’s Office in March. Before that, she was the planning manager and community-development director in Peoria.
Starting Monday, two of Gordon’senior staffers, Marchelle Franklin and Bill Scheel, were supposed to take over as Gordon’s co-chiefs of staff.
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But…
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Scheel is actually on temporary leave from the Mayor’s Office through November, working as campaign manager for Andrei Cherney, the Democratic candidate for State Treasurer.
It’s not Scheel’s first time taking a hiatus from Gordon’s office. In 2006, he went off to serve as the Legislative Campaign Director for the Arizona Democratic Party. It was an arguably successful assignment, given that the Dems picked up six seats in the state House and Senate that year.
