Multnomah County's Chief Operating Officer Shifting to Health Department

County Chairwoman Marissa Madrigal
By NIGEL JAQUISS

The fallout from the Jeff Cogen scandal continues at Multnomah County headquarters.

Last week, WW reported that Lillian Shirley, who heads the county health department, leaving to oversee public health for the state. That left the county's largest department leaderless just as state and local officials are rushing to implement the Affordable Healthcare Act.

The solution, announced on Friday, is that the county's chief operating officer, Joanne Fuller, will step down from her post take over Shirley's job. That means the county will operate with an interim chairwoman, Marissa Madrigal, and no chief operating officer until after next year's election.

County spokesman David Austin says the shift is a temporary solution. "The chief operating officer position is not going away. The duties are being temporarily re-distributed among county officials," Austin says. "We are in an unusual spot and we need to make sure people are in place during healthcare transformation."

Madrigal took over last month when Cogen resigned after admitted an affair with health department employee Sonia Manhas.

She announced the change in an email:

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