Governor fires DES director amid scandals

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has let go Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries after a series of controversies that include accusations that he hosted a party with alcohol for workers who gave up civil service protections.

Ducey announced the decision on Wednesday after saying early this week that his confidence in Jeffries was “shaken.”

Henry Darwin, the governor’s chief operating officer, took over as interim director on Wednesday.

Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato says the governor’s team will search for a new director to “bring stability to the agency.”

The Arizona Republic reported this month that Jeffries had taken a state plane to Nogales and hosted a party with alcohol for employees there who had given up employment protections. He’s also fired hundreds of workers.

DES is the state’s largest agency and employs over 7000 people.

– This story has been corrected to show Ducey spoke of investigation this week, not last week.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.