Brewer fires agency head who exposed wrongdoing

• Gov. Jan Brewer fired Arizona Department of Administration Director Brian McNeil.
• McNeil's office investigated several Brewer appointees for misconduct.
• McNeil, a current member of the U.S. Army reserve, is a former Corporation Commission director.

Gov. Jan Brewer has fired Brian McNeil, the straight-shooting military man who led the Arizona Department of Administration and exposed wrongdoing within her administration.

The reason for his firing has not been disclosed, and McNeil could not be reached for comment.

Andrew Wilder, Brewer's spokesman, on Monday confirmed McNeil's termination, but said there would be no further comment because it was a personnel matter.

Kathy Peckardt, Brewer's deputy chief of staff, sent an e-mail marked "high" importance around 10 a.m. Monday to Department of Administration employees explaining that he no longer was with the agency. The e-mail also did not explain McNeil's departure.

As a department head, McNeil served at Brewer's pleasure.

Peckardt said in her e-mail that Brewer has asked her to serve as interim ADOA chief until the next governor appoints a permanent director. A new governor will be seated in January.

Peckardt is a long-time ADOA employee, most recently serving as state human resources director under McNeil. She was integral in implementing Brewer's personnel-reform legislation in 2012.

McNeil, who serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, expected state employees to live and work by high standards, but often found himself at odds with Brewer and her chief of staff for investigating and cleaning up messes in Brewer's administration.

For example, McNeil's office last year investigated Jesse Hernandez, the ex-chairman and director of the state Board of Executive Clemency. McNeil found nine cases of inappropriate behavior. The offenses included Hernandez promoting an unqualified female employee he was dating and giving her a $21,340 pay raise.

Hernandez, a Republican political operative appointed by Brewer, had no experience in corrections or criminal justice. He eventually resigned following McNeil's investigation.

McNeil's office earlier this year also investigated Arizona State Parks Director Bryan Martyn after Martyn hired his three sons to work for the agency. Martyn initially was hired by the Parks Board. He had no prior parks experience and was a political friend of Brewer's. He was working at her pleasure when the investigation occurred.

The ADOA investigation resulted in Martyn being suspended for two weeks without pay, costing him $5,229.80 in gross earnings. Former ADOA Chief Human Resources Officer DiAnne Baune, who advised the parks department on personnel issues, resigned in the wake of the investigation and later retired. Martyn remains at the agency.

This summer, McNeil forced the retirement of Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Administrator Jim Hacking, after The Republic uncovered — and ADOA confirmed — that Hacking gave illegal pay raises to his staff.

Brian Tobin, the PSPRS chairman, allowed Hacking to retire and receive a severance of roughly $107,250, and an annual pension of roughly $86,704. Tobin, brother of House Speaker Andy Tobin, and the other six current PSPRS board members are Brewer appointees.

According to a state biography, McNeil became ADOA director on Nov. 1, 2012, following a brief stint as a lobbyist with Public Policy Partners. Prior to that, he was Brewer's deputy chief of staff.

McNeil was executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission from 1999 to 2009. He also served as deputy director for the state Department of Health Services and was a policy adviser for Gov. Fife Symington.

McNeil served in the U.S. military and remains a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. He has had two deployments to Iraq.

McNeil also served on the Board of Investment of the state Treasurer's Office, and the board of the Arizona State Retirement System.