Attendees to the Governor’s State of the State address at the El Conquistador on Tuesday were pleasantly surprised to see Martin Willett join them for the long afternoon in uncomfortable chairs. Willett, who is described by the Arizona Daily Star as “the second-most-powerful person in the Pima County administration,” filed a claim this month against the County, asking for $6 million in damages he incurred while riding his bike into a rut.
The dapper looking Willett sat next to County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry through the duration of the Governor’s grandstanding farewell event.
Willet, the Chief Deputy County Administrator, is being represented by his wife’s law firm McEvoy, Daniels, and Darcy, PC., which filed a Notice of Claim with the County on December 18, 2013.
Willet claims he was seriously injured, and his wife incurred damages when the front wheel of his bike “became lodged in a drainage gap” on the Dodge Boulevard Bridge.
He claims that he turned to look behind him and swerved into the small gap. However, the gap is not within the bike path but along the sidewalk. While Willett is claiming negligence on the part of the County, he would have had to be off the marked bike path to have hit the drainage gap. His bike would have had to be less than ½” from the sidewalk to come in contact with the gap.
Willett shattered a number of bones in his back, which required nine surgeries over the last six months.
Attendees at the State of the State event were surprised to learn that the man, who appeared to be having a pleasant time, was claiming that his “associated pain is constant, unrelenting and permanent,” according to his attorney.
Willett is seeking to settle with the county for $5 million for his injuries as well as $1 million for the suffering of his wife, Sally.
The matter will likely be discussed in executive session in an upcoming Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, and it will likely win the three votes needed to award Willett the money he seeks.