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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is eliminating several top positions in his office, citing budget constraints.
On Wednesday, his communications director confirmed that three staffers — George Diaz, director of government relations; JP Martin, deputy communications director; and Angie Cloutier, security operations manager — are being dismissed.
Fontes’ office oversees statewide elections as well as the state library, archives, and business services.
The staff reductions come after the office lost out on millions of dollars in one-time flexible funding — money it had received in the past two years but was left out of the budget that took effect in July. Fontes’ office said in a statement that the layoffs were unavoidable “after exhausting other cost-saving measures, in an effort to maintain core services and reinvest in critical operational improvements.”
The office’s general counsel, Amy Chan, and the deputy assistant secretary of state, C. Murphy Hebert, have also submitted their resignations — decisions that communications director Aaron Thacker said are unrelated to the layoffs.
While the office expects to fill Chan’s position, Thacker did not immediately say whether the other positions will be filled. Votebeat filed a public records request on Wednesday for more details.
“If the means to backfill these positions make themselves available in the relatively near future, we would absolutely backfill all of the positions,” Thacker said. “It’s not a matter of not needing them, but a matter of prioritizing what staff we need to provide the services we offer.”
In June, Fontes, a Democrat, publicly praised the bipartisan budget passed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Legislature — even though it lacked the one-time funding for his office. He wrote at the time that the budget prioritized election security, voter registration, and important programs, and demonstrated the state’s “ongoing commitment to safe, fair and secure elections.”
Thacker said that the office took an optimistic approach after the budget passed, even without the one-time funding. “We did not say that we got everything we needed,” he said.
The office’s approved general fund budget for this fiscal year is about $14.1 million, down from $19.6 million last year.
The office already committed the one-time funding the office received in past years to physical security and cybersecurity enhancements, investment in business services, and legal bills from when the office had to hire outside counsel to defend itself, Thacker said.
The office tried to cut costs last year by eliminating expenses and freezing positions, Thacker said. But the $723,000 saved from that effort is being used elsewhere, he said, such as to enhance cybersecurity protections and to speed up document filing services.
Thacker said the reductions in staff did not affect anyone who works directly with the public or with the statewide voter registration system.
Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. Contact Jen at jfifield@votebeat.org.
