Charles Loftus, a long-time law enforcement official, is considering a run for a seat in Legislative District 20. Loftus, now an instructor of criminology at ASU, served in both the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and as Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the Department of Economic Security.
While Loftus is well-known in law enforcement circles, primarily for his anti-terrorism expertise and creative anti-drug trafficking methods, he gained wide-spread attention when he and other reformers were escorted out of the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) in November 2016. Loftus was hired by DES director Tim Jeffries as part of his effort to clean-up DES waste, fraud, and abuse. According to numerous sources, the results of those efforts and negative media coverage to a lesser extent, prompted an embarrassed Ducey to fire Jeffries and top members of his team the day before Thanksgiving.
From ordinary food stamp abuse to big ticket Medicaid fraud, Loftus, under the direction of Inspector General Jay Arcellana, undercover and in some instances were able to secure convictions against fraudsters. Arcellana’s team had been in the process of investigating a massive Medicaid scheme by a large political contributor to various high-level officials when they were relieved of duty.
In August, both Loftus and Jeffries filed notices of claim against the State of Arizona for false statements. The notices of claim addressed “false statements” contained in the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Firearms Program Audit of Arizona DES released on July 7, 2017. Loftus’ attorney, Charles Johnson, alleged that the audit “was created and published to the public maliciously, with the intent of harming” Loftus.
The ADI reported in August, “Loftus has a stellar reputation in the law enforcement community. After serving with the ASU Police Department for 23 years, he served in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for approximately eight years. With a Ph.D. focused on public corruption from ASU, Loftus presently teaches at ASU and is the faculty co-director of an ASU study abroad program (now in its 11th year) that takes students to Israel for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence training every summer.”
Loftus says he is qualified to run because he has had “to implement policies and statutes enacted by legislators. He hopes that experience and his experience at DES will help guide him in his effort to clean-up corruption. “I have seen firsthand the shenanigans and ugliness of Arizona government. This is something I want to try and change. This is something that must change.”
“I want to restore the public’s trust in government and provide the tools needed to those who serve the public and hope to stop wasteful and shady spending.”
“If I run,” explained Loftus, “it is because I am I am inspired by courageous conservatives who take on the establishment and win. I believe that there is a movement in this country that is dedicated to restoring our social compact and protecting our fundamental rights.”
Loftus, who describes himself as a “Republican-Conservative with very pro law and order leanings,” hopes to “receive support from middle class workers and blue collar people who are tired of politicians who are nothing more than lobbyists with an “honorable” title in front of their name. This demographic is very tired of seeing the same mold of politician that says anything to get elected but works almost exclusively for lobbyists. The motto for my unit at the AG’s office was “Protecting Arizona,” I want to continue that tradition if I run and win.“
According to the Yellow Sheet, Tim Jeffries is also considering whether or not to throw his hat in the Republican Primary race for governor.
Loftus “filed paperwork to start a campaign committee for the House, where he’ll run in LD20. Loftus told our reporter Thursday morning that he’s not yet formerly announced anything because he’s still considering switching to the district’s Senate race, reported the Yellow Sheet. “But that depends on Yee, who’s been rumored to be interested in abandoning the seat to enter the race for state treasurer. Loftus said he’ll also have to weigh the interest of Boyer, who’s considered a likely Senate candidate in the event that Yee moves on to higher office. If Yee runs for treasurer, Boyer and Kern are expected to face each other for the open Senate seat. In the meantime, Loftus said he’s now working full time as an instructor of criminology at ASU, where he’s long served as a part-time professor. And he’s ready to tackle politics after becoming embroiled in controversy at DES. “I was not the issue that was over at DES, like the governor’s office was saying,” Loftus said. He added that he has an affinity for outsiders who enter politics, and now hopes to do the same. “There’s a degree of stench that comes from our state politics, and I’m an outsider,” Loftus told our reporter. “I’ve admired people who come from the outside and try to change things.”