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Of course that's what government is all about - rewarding the special interest groups that helped elected officials get into power.

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New Arizona parks chief is short on credentials

by Craig Harris - May. 9, 2012 11:05 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Former Pinal County Supervisor Bryan Martyn, an ally of Gov. Jan Brewer's in the battle for a planned Florence copper mine, was named state parks director last month despite being one of the least qualified candidates for the job, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show.

Martyn beat out 201 other applicants even though he had neither experience in state-parks management nor the preferred college degree for the $129,500-a-year position. A state Department of Administration official screening the applicants questioned whether Martyn met three other major requirements. Records indicate he definitively met only two of the seven qualifications for parks director.

Aside from serving three years as a Pinal County supervisor, Martyn was a career Air Force and Army helicopter pilot and special-operations instructor. He has a bachelor's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a graduate degree in defense management from American Military University, an online university for service members.

Martyn kept advancing through the hiring process and ultimately beat the only other finalist interviewed for the job. That candidate had 30 years of park-management experience and his state had been recognized in 2007 for having the top parks system in the country.

Martyn said he learned of the job opening in January while looking at a hiring website. He said he applied because he wanted to increase his pay to support his family and was willing to give up the remainder of his supervisor's term to earn more money. Pinal County supervisors are paid $63,800 annually.

Martyn acknowledged that he did not meet all the qualifications but said he convinced the seven-member Arizona State Parks Board that his political connections could help the financially struggling agency.

"I knew the funding issues that were going on with the parks, and I knew they needed somebody who knew the Legislature, who knew the governor and who knew county supervisors," Martyn said. "I got all that. I'm qualified for that. That is the position I took, the tack I took going into this."

The board unanimously voted to hire him April 18, and Martyn started his new job May 1, managing 216 employees, a $19.5 million budget and 27 state parks.

The hiring of a new state parks director typically receives little attention. But Martyn's hiring, which was approved by Brewer, has raised eyebrows among those closely following a more than two-year battle over a proposed underground copper mine in the heart of Florence, the Pinal County seat.

It also bewildered former Tennessee Parks Director Michael Carlton, the other applicant to make it to a final interview.

"I looked at the minimum qualifications for the job. Would he jump out?" said Carlton, who had to pay his own way to Phoenix for the interview. "If you were looking for a person who was connected politically, then you should have said that, because that appears what the case was."

Republicans Martyn and Brewer are strong supporters of the Pinal County mine. They also are closely connected through a mutual relationship with Chuck Coughlin, an influential GOP lobbyist who counts Curis Resources Inc., the mine's operator, among his clients.

Coughlin is a longtime friend and close political adviser to Brewer, having run at least six of her political campaigns for offices that include county supervisor, secretary of state and governor.

Coughlin said he had no influence in Martyn's hiring. But he acknowledged in an interview with The Republic that he helped Martyn's wife in February get a job working for Brewer. Mine opponents now suggest the close relationship also helped Martyn become state parks director.

"There are a few connections here, and sometimes you have to read between the lines," said Florence Vice Mayor Tom Smith, who supported Martyn's 2008 election as a county supervisor. "I would like to think they picked him for the job because they picked the best man."

Smith and other mine critics say the Florence Copper Project, for which Martyn and Coughlin both have lobbied, will pollute the town's underground-water supply and discourage future residential development because of its proximity to planned housing projects. But Brewer, Martyn and other supporters say the mine will bring high-paying jobs to a depressed community.

Brewer, in a speech in Florence last August, called the mine project a "wonderful economic development opportunity" that also would contribute millions of dollars to local schools.

Matthew Benson, the governor's spokesman, said Brewer had nothing to do with hiring Martyn, though records indicate she ultimately approved it. Coughlin, speaking for himself and the mining company, said neither had influence in Bryan Martyn's hiring.

"At no time did the governor sign off on this hire, nor was she asked about this hire," Benson said.

However, parks-board minutes indicate Martyn's hiring was contingent upon review by the Governor's Office, and the letter offering Martyn the job as parks director stated that the position was "subject to the approval of the Governor of the State of Arizona."

When the letter was read to Benson, he said "that wording is misleading at best."

Parks Board Chairman Walter Armer Jr. confirmed that the board sought Brewer's OK before hiring Martyn.

"It was strictly up to us, but the board has always taken the position of notifying the governor of the selection and getting the governor's blessing before we finalize (the hire) to make sure there's not a major problem between the offices," Armer said.

Armer said Martyn was hired because of his leadership skills.

"I think we needed something a little more dynamic, and he fit the bill," Armer said. Pinal Truth Squad

Curis is an Arizona affiliate of Hunter Dickinson Inc., a Canadian company that wants to begin a copper extraction this year near Hunt Highway in Florence.

Curis, in waging its battle, hired Coughlin's influential lobbying firm HighGround Inc. in November 2010, after the firm ran Brewer's successful gubernatorial campaign.

Curis this year also helped fund the Pinal Truth Squad, a pro-mine advocacy group that has paid Martyn an undisclosed sum to criticize mine opponents, including a Florence mayoral candidate.

The state solicitor general, under the direction of the Arizona attorney general, is investigating whether the Pinal Truth Squad violated campaign-finance laws. Martyn was that group's lone director, but he quit the post when he started the parks job May 1.

Martyn has repeatedly declined to say how much he was paid by the Pinal Truth Squad.

While Martyn was working for the Truth Squad, Coughlin was representing Curis and attending community meetings on its behalf.

Coughlin said he and Martyn had a discussion earlier this year, after Martyn applied for the parks job. During their conversation, Coughlin said, Martyn indicated his wife also needed a job.

Coughlin said he did not help Bryan Martyn become parks director, but he took credit for helping Susan Martyn become a receptionist in the Governor's Office by contacting Scott Smith, the governor's deputy chief of staff and state Department of Administration director.

"I helped Bryan's wife get a job. I called Scott Smith and said, 'Here is a wife of an elected official, can you look in constituent services?' " Coughlin said.

Smith said Coughlin only "referred" Susan Martyn to his office. Brewer's office hired her Feb. 27 in constituent services because, Smith said, she was qualified for the job.

Susan Martyn makes $35,000 annually. The couple make a combined $164,500 as state employees. 202 applicants

Alan Ecker, a DOA spokesman, said the state parks director position was posted Dec. 30. The state received 202 applications, and state Recruitment Manager Susan Laurence screened them, Ecker said.

Laurence forwarded 44 applicants to the state parks board. Records show 11 met what she determined to be all seven "required qualifications." Martyn was placed on another list of 33 applicants with "some qualifications."

Laurence, who also participated in the interview process, declined to answer questions regarding Martyn's hiring.

Records show Martyn did not have at least two of the seven required qualifications: 10 years of experience running a parks system and a bachelor's degree in park management or a related field. Documents show Laurence also was unsure whether Martyn met three other qualifications: knowledge of legislative process, budget/financial management, and land management and preservation.

Martyn, records show, only definitively met two of the seven qualifications: experience with local governments and Native American tribes, and contract negotiations.

Of all the candidates forwarded to the parks board, only one had fewer qualifications than Martyn, records show. Carlton, the only other candidate interviewed, met all seven of the qualifications. Two other finalists also met all of the qualifications, but they ultimately withdrew from the interviews.

Martyn, meanwhile, faces a May 17 hearing in Florence Municipal Court over a single misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct stemming from a March 10 dispute in a Florence park.

Martyn said he disclosed the assault allegation to the parks board during the interview process, and it did not keep him from getting the job.

"Bryan received a unanimous decision from the board. The fact he received a unanimous vote of the board is pretty good evidence that all the information was vetted and considered," said state Land Commissioner Maria Baier, the parks board vice chairwoman.