Hutton: ‘I have cancer’

The illness that Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton has been battling in recent weeks is cancer.

Hutton made that announcement Thursday, declining further comment and asking citizens and the media to honor her request for privacy in the matter.

In a statement, Hutton said she has undergone radiation and chemotherapy and “will be undergoing some tests so my doctors will have more information on the extent of my cancer.”

“My doctors tell me what I need most at this time is rest,” she said.

Hutton said she is in daily contact with her staff and still is in charge of city affairs.

“They have been very helpful in working with me and in keeping me updated on city matters. I am keeping up with city of Richmond matters and am making decisions for Richmond in my capacity as mayor,” she said.

Park superintendent Bill Thistlethwaite said he hears from Hutton as much now as he did before.

“Communication has been very good. I’ve talked to her on several occasions this week,” he said. “Of course we’re concerned about her and we don’t want to bother her, but things are continuing to move along.”

“From a department head standpoint, Mayor Hutton has give us direction regarding who to work with and through if we have issues or questions about projects or operations,” Tony Foster, director of the city’s Metropolitan Development Department, said in an email.

“The systems she has put in place during her physical absence from the office are working extremely well, and we department heads and employees continue to work as a team to keep city operations moving forward.

“The city is still being served well, and we all know she’s working harder from home during this difficult time than she should,” Foster said.

Hutton said she is being treated at Reid Health “and am fortunate to have excellent physicians working on me.”

“I deeply appreciate the outpouring of prayers, concerns, flowers and notes from so many of you. It has been truly amazing. It is helpful and encouraging to me to have that support.

“At this time, I will not be making any additional statements about my medical condition. I thank the citizens of Richmond for honoring my request,” she said.

Hutton is a popular people’s mayor, who has won election three times and is finishing her 12th year in the office. She is not running for re-election for a fourth term.

Hutton is well known for her ease with citizens on the streets and in neighborhoods, always in attendance at community events, but she sometimes has struggled, especially during her current term, in dealing with opposition on Richmond Common Council.

In 2003, she became the first woman to be voted mayor of Richmond in a citywide election.

Staff writer Bill Engle: (765) 973-4481 or bengle@pal-item.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/billengle_PI.