Hedgecock’s Chief of Staff Quits, Cites ‘Year of Turmoil’
J. Michael McDade, Mayor Roger Hedgecock’s chief of staff, is resigning effective June 1, making him the most important Hedgecock aide to quit since the mayor narrowly escaped felony conviction in February.
McDade was intimately involved in recent plea-bargain negotiations in the Hedgecock case. But he said Friday that the breakdown of those talks last week did not influence his decision to resign his $56,400-a-year job.
Instead, McDade cited the cumulative pressures brought on by the yearlong controversy, along with financial considerations, as his reasons for leaving.
“This last year of turmoil in connection with the trial has been a real emotional strain on my family,” he said. “I think at this point I owe them a chance to calm down and relax for a while.”
McDade, whose background is in conservative politics, served as Hedgecock’s liaison to mainstream Republicans and businessmen.
McDade’s resignation brings to three the number of key aides who have quit since Feb. 13, when a Superior Court jury became deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of convicting Hedgecock on 13 felony conspiracy and perjury counts.
The mayor is scheduled to be retried Aug. 22.
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