Mike Fong, former Seattle City Hall official, to run regional office of Small Business Administration

Mike Fong, a veteran Seattle area politician, will become the new director of the US Small Business Administration’s Seattle Area 10 office, the White House said Thursday.

Fong, who resigned as Seattle’s deputy mayor in August to lead Snohomish County’s pandemic recovery, will now oversee federal efforts aimed at helping small business recovery in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska.

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy and this is an incredible opportunity to serve their needs as part of our nation’s recovery from the pandemic,” Fong said in a statement.

According to Fong’s LinkedIn page, Fong has been in local government since 2001, started serving on the Seattle City Council, and has held political and leadership roles ever since.

He was chief of staff under former Mayor Ed Murray until 2017. After serving three months as King County’s chief operating officer, Fong became deputy mayor under Jenny Durkan, where he headed the mayor’s staff.

Fong, who was born and raised in Spokane, was the first Chinese American to serve as deputy mayor in Seattle, according to the White House.

Most recently, as Snohomish County’s chief recovery and resilience officer, he led efforts to prioritize the region’s $ 160 million allocation under the American Rescue Plan Act to recovery from the pandemic, according to the White House.

The SBA worked on key parts of the federal pandemic response, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Restaurant Recovery Fund. These programs are widely seen as critical to the recovery effort, but have also been criticized as slow and underfunded.

Seattle area executives praised Fong’s appointment as an SBA.

“For the past two years, Mike Fong has been dedicated to guiding our community through the pandemic and ensuring that the public sector is deliberately laying the groundwork for a resilient, equitable and inclusive economic recovery,” said Rachel Smith, President and CEO the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. “That includes making sure small businesses have the resources and support they need.”

Fong follows Kerrie Hurd, who was named in 2017, according to her LinkedIn page.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/mike-fong-former-seattle-city-hall-official-to-run-regional-office-of-small-business-administration/
[ad_1]