Office of Tourism director Lisa Urias has resigned from her position following lawmakers’ requests to investigate a contract apparently benefitting those close to her company.
Under Urias, the state spent $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funding on a redesign of the state logo. Part of those funds, approximately $28,000, went to Heart & Soul Marketing, who hired the brother to the CEO of Urias’ company, Urias Communications.
The CEO of Urias’ firm is Jason Coochwytewa, a member of the Grand Canyon Conservancy board. His brother, Kevin Coochwytewa, is the designer for the state logo under Heart & Soul Marketing and has previously had Urias Communications as a customer.
The Office of Tourism communications director, Josh Coddington, revealed in remarks to the media that it was Urias who advocated for Coochwytewa to be hired by Heart & Soul Marketing for the state’s rebrand project.
Urias issued a statement denying that she or her company benefited financially from contracts awarded by her office.
“Urias Communications nor I have ever financially benefited from any Arizona Office of Tourism contracts since I took a position with the State of Arizona,” said Urias.
Following reporting on this contract, State Representative Teresa Martinez sent a letter Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell asking for an investigation into Urias for conflicts of interest.
Former governor Doug Ducey’s executive aide, Dan Coulson, accused Urias of treating her position as a “taxpayer-funded ATM” to get rich.
https://twitter.com/DanCoulsonAZ/status/1859642415847702843
The $700,000 redesign contract was funded entirely from federal pandemic relief funding. Comparatively, the former branding developed by Ducey’s administration cost about $250,000. The price disparity came from the tourism office’s “radically inclusive listening tour” across the state: in-person and digital listening sessions with over 2,000 people spanning almost 60 different areas within the state and the tribal nations.
Contentions also remain over the lawfulness of Urias’ appointment to the role. Governor Katie Hobbs nominated Urias within a month of taking office last year, but Urias never received confirmation from the Arizona legislature.
Hobbs withdrew Urias and a slew of her other nominees last September from the Senate nomination process, citing frustrations with Republicans’ unwillingness to accept her picks.
At the time Hobbs withdrew Urias and others, Senate President Warren Petersen warned that the legality of unconfirmed directors opened up the state to lawsuits.
“The law is very specific on who is to run our state agencies,” said Petersen. “Without directors fulfilling these obligations, the legality of every decision made by these state agencies is dubious, and litigation against the state would surely prevail.”
Though Hobbs had fought with the GOP-led state legislature to confirm Urias and others, Hobbs attempted to distance herself from Urias on Friday in a press conference. No word was given on who would take over for Urias.
“I can say as a social worker, I take my role as a public servant very seriously and anyone who has the privilege of serving the public needs to be above reproach,” said Hobbs. “This appearance of conflict is not acceptable.”
The new logo is part of the rebranding project launched after Urias took over: “Discovering Arizona: Finding the Future of Arizona’s Story,” with the tagline “Vibrant Arizona.” In designing the new logo, Urias said she and her team prioritized symbolisms representing the state’s 22 tribes, citing their status as “the foundation of Arizona.”
Other reports also claimed that Urias Communications received a $250,000 contract with the Arizona Department of Education for its Office of Indian Affairs. Superintendent Tom Horne clarified that no such contract was approved, but that state records on file reflecting a proposed $250,000 contract was an unapproved ”competition impractical” document. ADE only entered into a $15,000 contract for separate planning services.
