Gov. Doug Ducey fired Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries and five other top employees on Wednesday, amid reports that Jeffries had eliminated hundreds of employees at the state's largest agency and bought alcohol for employees during work hours.
Jeffries, a former private-sector executive who was appointed by Ducey in 2015, was walked out of the DES building Wednesday morning after his firing, which was relayed to him by three Ducey staffers.
Jeffries, who earned $215,000 a year, was plagued by several controversies during his short time as DES director:
-Last week, The Arizona Republic reported on a DES party at a Nogales restaurant where Jeffries paid for employees' alcoholic drinks.
-Last month, Ducey revoked Jeffries' authority to fire employees after the Republic reported Jeffries had terminated almost 500 employees. Many of those employees were top performers; some later claimed they were victims of age, gender or political bias.
-In August, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and several DES employees questioned whether Jeffries could solicit donations for a private religious pilgrimage through department-wide emails. Attorney General Mark Brnovich later concluded the emails were allowed under the law.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ducey said of the Nogales story: "I'm disappointed by what's happened, by what I've read and we're going to find out what the facts are ... What's been reported has caused me concern."
On Wednesday, the governor's spokesman, Daniel Scarpinato, issued this statement:
This is the state's largest agency, with more than 7,000 employees. For several weeks, we have been engaged in a careful investigation of the agency. Given it's size and impact on the citizens of our state, it required that level of attention.As a result of that review, Gov. Ducey has taken appropriate action today to move the agency forward in a way that will ensure we are meeting our mission of assisting Arizona's most vulnerable citizens.
Henry Darwin, the governor's chief operating officer, is taking over as the agency's interim director while the governor searches for a new director.
The governor also fired these DES employees:
-Juan Arcellana, Chief Accountability Officer. Salary: $120,000
-Marie Barker, Executive Assistant, $70,400
-Daniel C. Collier, Chief of Staff, $140,000
-Morris Greenidge, Chief Human Resources Officer, $115,000
-Charles Loftus, Security Operations Administrator, $91,000