The former longtime head of the board that decides how billions of dollars in transportation projects is spent across the Tucson area has filed a $3.8 million claim against his former employer.
Farhad Moghimi, the former executive director of the Pima Association of Governments and the Regional Transportation Authority, was fired on a 5-to-4 vote in June after a months-long dispute with city and county leaders over project selection, scheduling and other issues.
Moghimi
A $3.8 million claim against his former employer was filed last week by Jeffrey H. Jacobson, Moghimi's attorney. The claim, the first step in suing the government, says Moghimi was unlawfully fired and that the boards' actions violated Arizona's open meetings law.
The 18-page claim lists all nine members of the PAG/RTA board members, which are identical.
Moghimi made about $200,000 per year as executive director for both the RTA and PAG, a post he held since 2013, the Star has reported.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz declined to comment on the matter. PAG/RTA would not comment on "pending legal matters," a spokesperson said.
The effort to fire Moghimi, pushed for by Heinz, was supported by Romero as well as Tohono Oâodham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Chairman Julian Hernandez and South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela.
Marana Mayor Jon Post, Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy, Oro Valley Mayor Joe Winfield and Arizona State Transportation Board Member Ted Maxwell voted against the termination.
The nine-member RTA is a collection of top elected officials from the regionâs cities, towns and tribal communities that is tasked with overseeing the implementation of projects included in the 20-year half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2006. It also manages tax revenues, project schedules and budgets, among other responsibilities. Pima County voters will decide in March on the RTA Next plan, another 20-year slate of projects.
Years of tension
The tension between Moghimi and some local officials had been building for years. It came to a head in late April when Heinz, a critic of Moghimi, joined the boards and immediately requested a performance review.
It wasnât the first time Heinz targeted Moghimi, who has faced criticism from several Tucson officials who said he favored smaller, suburban jurisdictions over the city. Nearly three years ago, Heinz called for Moghimi to be fired, sharing concerns over a lack of a performance review for the executive director and poor management of transportation plans for the area.
The review requested to happen during a meeting in April was initially delayed because Moghimi didn't include it on the meeting agenda.
In the claim, Jacobson says that even though PAG and RTA have the same members, the agenda for RTA, "did not include any reference to a discussion of Mr. Moghimi's 'strategic goals and performance.'"
The claim says there were two violations of the state's open meetings law at that meeting: improper public notice of the discussion and PAG's discussion of Moghimi's employment rather than sticking to his work performance.
The claim also asserts that, per contract with PAG, the body is required to pay him "earned but unpaid salary, and any other earned benefits," but PAG has not.
The claim goes onto say Moghimi's firing was in-part retaliation effort because of instances where he reported the board or its members had violated state laws. As an example, the claim says Moghimi reported a potential conflict of interest when Mayor Romero's child participated in an art program for teens in 2021.
The Transit Art by Youth program hires teen artists to work alongside professionals to create public artwork. PAG funds the program through the Highway User Revenue Fund. According to the claim, Moghimi reported the potential conflict to state officials. It led the Arizona Department of Transportation publishing an audit that found a conflict of interest "in violation of state law."
"In response, the City of Tucson did not concur with the Audit Report's findings that the Mayor violated Arizona's conflict of interest laws, and either concurred or partially concurred as to the other findings and conclusions in the Audit Report," the claim says.
The following year, in 2022, Moghimi reported to PAG that he was being "harassed, retaliated against, and the subject of a smear campaign" in connection to actions taken by Supervisor Heinz, a longtime critic of Moghimi. In the claim, Jacobson said Heinz "has never hidden his disdain."
When Heinz called for Moghimi to be fired three years ago, he made posts on social media explaining his actions. The claim also says Heinz interfered with a competitive grant process "and attempted to influence PAG's decision regarding allocation of the funds to other projects outside his District," without going into specifics.
A response from PAG "is anticipated and expected" within 60 days, the claim says.
