Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry appears to have crossed a line this week when he questioned the fact that private citizen and radio talk show host, Chris DeSimone, addressed the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday. DeSimone testified in opposition to SB 1147.
DeSimone responded to a bizarre memo Huckelberry wrote about DeSimone’s testimony:
Video of DeSimone Testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee
Huckelberry follows Miller’s actions closely and has used County resources in the past to document every move. The fact that he is now documenting the actions of a private citizen has many concerned.
After his appearance at the Capitol, DeSimone had Miller on his show. The two discussed the fact that Huckelberry received $34,347.52 in vacation pay and $84,268.40 in sick pay over the last 4 years on top of his bloated salary. The benefits take Huckelberry’s compensation to well over $400,000 a year.
[Listen to the interview here]
Huckelberry, who appears to be wound tight these days, would be well-advised to take a vacation, County sources say, rather than taking the sick and vacation pay-out of over $138,596.00 he received on January 7, 2017 for the past 4 years.
In the past, Huckelberry as instructed County staff to track the social media account of a high school student, who dared to write a research paper on Huckelberry’s 2015 bond package.
Related article: Pima County Supervisors Approve Money To Lobby For Regressive Gas Tax
Pima County’s lobbyist, Michael Racy, is promoting the legislation. In 2016, the ADI reported that Racy’s company received $160,000 in taxpayer monies for state-level lobbying and another $150,000.00 for nation-level lobbying. At the next Pima County Board of Supervisors’ meeting the Board is expected to approve a new contract for $300,000 for two years of federal lobbying.