Underwood Cites 'Divisiveness' In Leaving City Manager Job

MERCER ISLAND, WA — City Manager Julie Underwood resigned in a surprise announcement on Wednesday — although her departure comes as Mercer Island faces a budget crisis.

Underwood said the city manager job has taken a toll on her and her family recently, and said that she's been the subject of "mean-spirited criticism" during budget deliberations. The failed Proposition 1 levy increase has forced the city to make major cuts, and there are deeper cuts on the table.

"I live here. These are high stakes for me, too. I care about this community, but I just think the community has to sort out what it wants to be," she said in an interview Wednesday.

The cancellation of Summer Celebration is one example, she said. City Council cut it earlier in 2019, but Underwood said it wouldn't have happened anyway since the staff who ran Summer Celebration quit before the Proposition 1 vote.

"If I had filled the positions, I would've had the same critics," she said. "Every issue leads to divisiveness."

Mike Cero, who headed the anti-Prop 1 campaign, called Underwood a "good soldier" for City Council. But he thinks City Council is not doing what the majority of Mercer Island residents want. Prop 1 failed 57 to 43 percent.

"Going forward, I anticipate the next crop of city manager candidates will research the community and emphasize their skills in running efficient and focused organizations," he wrote in an email. "I also hope the City Council will search for candidates outside the typical public administration career path and consider candidates having successful business experience."

Underwood started on Jan. 3, 2017, and was formerly the city manager in Daly City, Calif. The city manager acts as a sort-of CEO, overseeing city operations. Much of Underwood's recent time in Mercer Island has been spent preparing for future projected budget deficits, and dealing with the aftermath of the Proposition 1 failure. She received a positive performance review from City Council in February, and declined at that time to take a pay raise.

The review, however, advised Underwood to take a vacation "to find relief from a terribly stressful job and separate herself from public negativity."

"We thank Julie for her tireless leadership over the last two years," Mayor Debbie Bertlin said in a statement. "Julie brought fresh and innovative ideas to Mercer Island and our community is better for it. She will be deeply missed."

Underwood's resignation is effective June 7. The city will begin searching for an interim city manager soon, officials have said.

"The community is in good hands with the staff that's here," she said. "Sometimes a leader has to know when their leadership and effectiveness has run its course. Sometimes it's time to make a decision that's more about yourself than your employers."