Mayor Ted Wheeler Hires the Late Commissioner Nick Fish’s Chief of Staff

The incumbent strengthens his team as he moves into a election year.

Sonia Schmanski
By Nigel Jaquiss

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler today announced the hiring of Sonia Schmanski, who served as the chief of staff to the late Commissioner Nick Fish, who died of cancer Jan. 2.

After Fish's death, Wheeler took control of Fish's bureaus, so Schmanski effectively already works for him. She'll now become one of two deputies to Wheeler's Chief of Staff Kristin Dennis, joining Jamal Fox in that position.

Schmanski worked for Fish for nearly a dozen years and will add depth to a staff that has undergone significant turnover and will be without Dennis in the spring when she goes out on maternity leave.

"Mayor Wheeler's office is leading important conversations about big issues that will shape our community's future, and I look forward to supporting them and the rest of the City Council as we tackle this work together," Schmanski said in a statement.

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