By Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times
Tim Jeffries, the former director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security who Gov. Doug Ducey ousted roughly a year ago, is now considering a run for governor.
Jeffries was forced to resign from DES in November 2016 amid reports that he had fired hundreds of state workers and used a state plane to fly to Nogales to celebrate with employees who gave up their job protections.
Now the ousted agency head said he’s compelled to consider a possible gubernatorial bid thanks to a groundswell of support from his former DES employees.
“I have no desire to get into politics. Zero. I’d be A-OK if I was still the director of DES,” Jeffries told the Arizona Capitol Times. “I think the governor made a huge mistake in moving me out, and there’s thousands of DES colleagues who feel the same way. Many DES colleagues have asked me to run for governor so I can fix DES all over again.”
Jeffries said he would decide by Thanksgiving whether to jump in the race.
