Just when they thought he was in, he pulled out. Er, something. Newly-hired Village Voice editor Erik Wemple unhired himself today, returning to his old gig at Washington City Paper.

Executive editor Michael Lacey's e-mailed spin to Voice staff, via Gawker:

"Erik's concerns are not unreasonable," said Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media. "The Voice is an enormous and complex horse race. We asked Erik to mount several ponies mid-stride, and he was alarmed to find us still in several of those saddles."

The Village Voice's own blog reports that Wemple, who was to start July 24, visited the paper's staff on Monday:

Get out in the streets, he advised. If you want lunch with me, sit down at my desk where I'll be eating turkey with lettuce and yellow mustard. Please be on time for meetings, he said, and no putting "tender age of" in your copy.

Perhaps this should've tipped off staffers that Wemple was quietly struggling with the prospect of "mounting several ponies mid-stride":

Wemple took long pulls from a water bottle.

So it seems City Paper's search for a Wemple replacement is over, while a new one begins at the Voice.

Editor in Chief, Washington City Paper [mb jobs]
Breaking: New 'Voice' EIC Erik Wemple Quits Before He Starts [Gawker]

The full memo:

From: [REDACTED]
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 17:17:19
To: Village Voice
Subject: Erik Wemple withdraws

June 15, 2006

This morning Erik Wemple announced that he'd changed his mind about becoming editor of the Village Voice. A new father, Wemple decided to remain in his old position as the editor at City Paper in Washington, D.C.

We wish him well.

Although Wemple accepted the job of editor-in-chief of the historic Voice—even introducing himself to the staff—subsequent discussions revealed disagreements over newsroom management.

"Erik's concerns are not unreasonable," said Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media. "The Voice is an enormous and complex horse race. We asked Erik to mount several ponies mid-stride, and he was alarmed to find us still in several of those saddles."

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