Washoe District Health Officer Kevin Dick asked for the resignation of the district's chief epidemiologist on Friday.

Dr. Randall Todd has been the director of epidemiology for the Washoe County Health District for 14 years. Before that he was Nevada's State Epidemiologist for 12 years.

Todd confirmed that Dick asked him to leave his position.

"It was requested," Todd said. "What I'm going to do is I'm going to retire. I've got quite a few years in. Twenty-six to be precise."

Todd said Dick did not give him a reason for requesting his resignation. Todd acknowledged that he's been in conflict with Dick "off and on over the years," but wasn't specific about the source of the conflict.

Asked if he wanted to leave his position amid the coronavirus pandemic, Todd answered: "Well, I'm going to whether I want to or not."

Todd's last day will be May 1.

Dick had previously asked for Todd's retirement "some time ago," but Todd requested to stay on until his division was fully staffed. He said his division recently filled two manager positions.

Dick declined to comment through his spokesman Scott Oxarart.

"This is a personnel matter and we do not comment on personnel matters," Oxarart said.

Oxarart also wouldn't comment on the district's plans for filling the key position. Todd said he didn't know how quickly the district would be able to replace him.

Anjeanette Damon is the government watchdog reporter for the RGJ. You can reach her at adamon@rgj.com or follow her on Twitter @AnjeanetteDamon. If you care about shining a bright light on decisions made by your elected officials, please consider subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal.