PHOENIX — The head of the Arizona Office of Tourism resigned abruptly Friday amid questions of a conflict of interest in a $700,000 expenditure for a new logo.
Lisa Urias submitted her resignation to Gov. Katie Hobbs less than 24 hours after House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez said she wants an investigation. The Casa Grande Republican said there are legal questions about the decision by Urias’ office to spend money with Urias Communications for a rebranding effort.
Urias has said that while she still owns the company she has cut financial ties. She later told the Arizona Republic, however, she continues to get a “stipend’’ from the firm but would not disclose the amount.
Whatever the financial arrangement, the governor said it was clear that Urias had to go.
“Anyone who has the privilege of serving the public needs to be above reproach,’’ Hobbs said Friday.
“That’s why I accepted her resignation this morning,’’ the governor continued. “This appearance of a conflict is not acceptable.’’
Hobbs sidestepped questions about whether it made sense for the state to spend $700,000 on what critics say was simply designing a new logo.
“This is not about that project,’’ she said. “This is about the appearance of conflict that is unacceptable.’’
But what also is true is that Urias’ future at the agency likely was limited.
In a social media post Thursday, Senate President Warren Petersen said the odds of Urias getting confirmed by the Senate “are zero.”
Urias
“She should resign or be removed by the governor immediately,” the Gilbert Republican said.
Urias acknowledged that reality.
“I was caught in a maelstrom of unfounded and false allegations regarding the financial management of this project,” she wrote in her resignation letter.
And Urias said neither the firm that bears her name nor she personally has ever benefited from this project or any work related to the Arizona Office of Tourism.
But that, she said, doesn’t make the issue go away.
“It became evidence that these false allegations would obstruct by confirmation by the Senate confirmation committee,’’ Urias wrote.
Hobbs, in accepting her resignation, said Friday she had not heard about the call by Martinez for an investigation.
But Martinez said the resignation does not end her call for Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to look into the issue.
All this relates to reports by Arizona Agenda that Urias suggested to Heart & Soul Marketing, a third-party design firm, that it hire artist Kevin Coochwytewa to develop the new logo. He was eventually hired by that firm, earning a reported $27,500.
But the report also said that Coochwytewa is the brother of Jason Coochwytewa, who took over for Urias as the CEO of Urias Communications.
“The issue, originally, in my mind, was the conflict,’’ Martinez said, saying even if her company was not benefiting “the optics look bad.’’
She said, though, even with Urias on her way out the door from her $205,000 job — her resignation is effective Dec. 4 — there are other questions that need to be answered. And central to all that, Urias said, was the price tag for the new logo and why the state needed to hire an outside firm to design it.
“People make fun of why a hammer costs $1,500 if the government buys it versus the 15 bucks at Ace Hardware,” she said.
“This is government bloat,” Martinez continued. “This is waste and fraud and abuse. This is not a good thing.’’
But Josh Coddington, the public information officer at the tourism office, said all that is based on misinformation.
Yes, he said, there is the logo. But Coddington said this was just a piece of the whole effort to rebrand the state.
It included a year-long “discovering Arizona listening tour,’’ described by the agency as asking 1,000 Arizonans about things like what they love about where they live and what would they show a visitor.
All that led to a new Vibrant Arizona brand identity including six “pillars’’ including majestic beauty; vibrant arts, culture and experiences,; abundant diversity; welcoming warmth; strong connections; and trailblazing ingenuity. Coddington said the contract also included a video highlighting the pillars and revealing the new identity.
“We didn’t do it in house because we don’t have graphic designers on staff and because the ambitious scope of work was beyond what Arizona Office of Tourism could handle,’’ he said.
Hobbs herself boasted of the work when she announced the Vibrant Arizona brand and log in August.
“Arizona deserves a brand as vibrant as its people, one that showcases our collective Arizona story,’’ the governor said.
