Another one bites the dust: In what mayor Mike McGinn's spokesman Mark Matassa calls a "huge loss for the city," the city of Seattle's veteran personnel director, Mark McDermott, has resigned to take a position as the regional representative for the US Department of Labor, representing Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Alsaka.

McDermott, who has been at the city for more than 20 years and was well-liked in the administration of McGinn's predecessor, Greg Nickels, announced his resignation in a letter to personnel department staff today. According to Matassa, he applied for the job right after Obama was elected.

Matassa says the mayor's office will be "conducting a thorough search" for McDermott's replacement. McDermott was not immediately available for comment.