Embattled Parks chief Black fired
Deputy also terminated amid misconduct claims
Gov. Doug Ducey fired Parks Director Sue Black and her top deputy on Friday, ending her turbulent 31⁄2-year tenure running the state agency. Black’s termination follows an Arizona Republic investigation revealing allegations from former department archaeologists that Arizona State Parks and Trails had repeatedly developed state land without regard for laws protecting Native American and other archaeological sites.
Both Black and Deputy Director Jim Keegan had been placed on paid leave amid a criminal investigation into the allegations.
Their firing follows years of allegations from employees that Black had
berated them, showed up drunk at agency functions and violated procurement rules. Despite several state personnel office investigations, Black had dodged major discipline from Ducey, who had praised her for bringing in new revenue to the agency and winning a national award.
Calls to Black’s and Keegan’s cellphones were not returned.
Ducey, chief of staff Kirk Adams and spokesmen Daniel Ruiz and Daniel Scarpinato could not be reached for comment.
The announcement came in a news release that also stated Ted Vogt will continue to serve as the interim director of the agency. Vogt most recently worked as executive director at the Arizona Corporation Commission until he was forced to resign this summer. His wife, Annie, is a former Ducey spokeswoman.
Ducey hired Black in February 2015, after she was fired as Milwaukee County Parks director in Wisconsin. And Black brought on Keegan, who has a felony criminal record and is a longtime friend of hers, as her deputy.
Ducey stood behind Black despite repeated allegations of misbehavior and mistreatment of employees. Parks had one of the highest employee-turnover rates among state agencies during her tenure,but the Governor’s Office downplayed the departures. In fact, during her tenure, Ducey gave her a 9.4 percent raise, bringing her pay to $175,000.
Black becomes Ducey’s sixth agency appointee to be fired.
Ducey, elected to another four-year term on Nov. 6, put Black and Keegan on administrative leave on Nov. 1, the same day the Arizona Attorney General’s Office launched a criminal investigation into the agency.
The investigation came after two former archaeologists at the agency, Paula Pflepsen and Will Russell, told that Black, in a rush to build cabins and trails, had developed state land without regard for laws protecting archaeological sites.
This week, obtained documents showing Keegan had obtained nearly $80,000 for the department after signing a federal grant application as the agency’s archaeologist even though he had no training in that field.
Pflepsen, the former Parks archaeologist, had told
that when Keegan applied for the grant in 2016, he was neither qualified nor authorized to sign the form.
Russell, the other former Parks archaeologist, provided with hundreds of documents supporting his allegations that, under Black, Parks was destroying Native American lands for development. In one case, Parks unearthed ancient stone tools and caused “irreversible” damage to a site dating back 12,000 years, according to agency memos.
Russell also has said Black and Keegan threatened him when he worked at Parks. He left the agency in mid-October and works for another state agency.
Russell on Friday said that Black’s firing will make the state’s natural and cultural resources far safer.
“I’m grateful to everyone who stood up for our heritage, especially the press and our elected officials,” Russell said. “It’s very rare for people to be held accountable for actions that negatively impact cultural resources, so this gives me hope that people do see the value in what I have been trying to protect.”
Russell was at least the 36th full-time employee to leave the agency this year. The agency has 179 employees; at least 118 have quit or been fired under Black, according to public records obtained by
Russell has been interviewed by the Attorney General’s Office as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich launched the probe following an Oct. 30 request from four Native American lawmakers who cited investigations. The lawmakers also called for Black to be fired.
Brnovich could not be reached for comment Friday. State Rep. Eric Descheenie, D-Chinle, one of the four lawmakers who sought Black’s ouster and a criminal investigation, said Friday that the firing was “justified” based on “the amount of negligence and impropriety that has been observed.”
Descheenie said there should be grave consequences to Parks destroying Native American cultural sites, and he is urging the Attorney General’s Office to continue its investigation.
“The firing placates the politics, but we need to look at the full extent,” Descheenie said.
Black was fired while the Arizona Department of Administration investigated her treatment of staff. It was the third such investigation of her tenure.
Among the other controversies and allegations against Black:
❚ In February 2017, a high-ranking employee alleged Black made her do personal work for her, disclosed confidential information, used racial slurs, and got drunk and belligerent. Ducey’s office investigated the claim, but did not interview the whistleblower. The Governor’s Office ultimately told Black to be kinder to her employees. Employees called the inquiry a sham.
❚ In August 2017, Black fired a deputy director who was on long-term disability and recovering from a stroke. It was the second time in a year the agency had fired a severely ill employee on medical leave.
❚ In May 2018, Black asked her central office staff to work additional shifts at the agency’s parks for no additional pay. The request was suspended following questions about its legality from The Republic. The program was reinstituted as a volunteer program, with Black reminding employees they could be fired at will.
❚ In June 2018, Black fired a 59-year-old woman with eye cancer. Ducey initially stood behind the decision but later forced Black to rehire the woman following a public outcry.
The Republic since July 23 had sought records created by ADOA investigators who had interviewed Parks staff following complaints that Black had mistreated her staff.
The ADOA and the Governor’s Office have refused to release the records.