After losing his re-election bid last month, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is now starting to lose his top staff members. One of the first to step down is his communications director, Robert Mak, the man responsible for the Mayor's image.

Former KING-TV reporter Robert Mak will officially leave at the end of the month, but is taking vacation in the meantime. He is reportedly bound for a stint of parenting so his wife can go back to work.

A longtime, acclaimed host of KING-TV's "Up Front," Mak caused a stir when he signed on as hizzoner's communications director, with a greater stir over his $160,000 salary. He has taken a surprisingly low profile at the job, leaving official announcements to deputy Alex Fryer.

Mak's responsibility as communications director was to manage the Mayor's image. But for the 14 months of his tenure, his boss, Nickels, struggled to raise his popularity ratings, ultimately losing in last month's primary. There was even a little controversy when Mak started himself:

When he was hired in May 2008, Mak's $160,000 a year salary raised eyebrows. He is among the city's highest-paid employees. The mayor himself makes less. At the time, City Councilmember Nick Licata termed Mak's compensation excessive, suggesting Nickels was spending too much on self promotion. However the City Council doesn't control salaries of the mayor's staff.

Mak will be staying home and taking care of his two kids as his wife finishes her own maternity leave. On his departure:

Mak said he is proud of leading the office beyond traditional news releases, into online social networking and introducing tools to help the office communicate more effectively with neighborhoods.

The city recently launched "Citylink," a Web site and network of feeds from city departments, so residents can find parks, activities, transportation advisories, emergency notices and other information all in one site. Mak said he played a role in envisioning the site.