State Treasurer Dennis Milligan's former outreach manager said Tuesday that he doesn't know why he was dismissed Monday from his job in Milligan's office.
David Singer of White Hall had held the $65,000-a-year job since Jan. 14, the day after Milligan took office, according to Milligan spokesman Grant Wallace.
Singer, 51, said that when he walked into the treasurer's office Monday morning, Chief of Staff Jim Harris told him to go into his office and he "gave me a speech," and he told him that he no longer had a job.
He said Harris didn't explain why Singer was being fired.
"I literally have no idea," Singer said.
"For the past year, it has been a very hectic year," Singer said, adding that his wife died in June and that he has two sons. He said he worked for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's circulation department from July-January after working for Stephens Media.
He said Harris declined to allow him to meet with Milligan.
Wallace said that "we have a standing policy not to discuss personnel matters.
"I will just say that employees of the treasurer's office are at will, he was told this and told his services were no longer needed," he said.
"As chief of staff, Jim Harris is responsible for carrying out any terminations within the office. There would be no reason for anyone who has been terminated to visit with the treasurer," Wallace said.
In July, Singer filed an ethics complaint against Milligan's Democratic opponent for treasurer, Karen Garcia of Hot Springs.
In September, Garcia agreed to be issued a public letter of caution by the state Ethics Commission in a settlement of Singer's complaint. She agreed that she violated state law by omitting the address of a contributor on her March campaign-finance report and by listing an incorrect amount on her June campaign finance report as the cumulative total received during the entire election cycle.
Singer's departure comes while another treasurer's office employee, Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Brady, is on paid leave.
Brady, who makes $81,600 a year, will be out of the office through today, Wallace said.
Milligan wants to review Brady's emails from 2013 and 2014 when Brady was working as a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and also as Milligan's volunteer campaign manager, Wallace said Monday.
Milligan wants to verify the authenticity of emails attributed to Brady, Wallace said.
The Arkansas News Bureau reported Sunday that emails Brady sent in 2013 and 2014 show he conducted business for Milligan's campaign using the cancer organization's email account during regular business hours on numerous occasions.
The emails also show Brady made plans for a conference call using the organization's phone system and told fellow campaign workers, in an email, seeking reimbursement for an expense, that "for job security, my name can NOT be listed anywhere on a campaign contribution report," according to the Arkansas News Bureau.
The cancer-fighting group is a nonprofit that doesn't endorse political candidates.
Ray Carson, associate director of media advocacy for the organization's southern region in Tampa, Fla., said Tuesday that "we are dealing with that internally. What happened was a violation of internal policies."
"ACSCAN has strict policies in place with regard to personal political campaign activity. We educate our staff regularly on these policies and take violations very seriously," he said. Brady worked for the group for seven years until January, he said.
"We learned about these allegations shortly before the initial report was published," Carson said.
Brady could not be reached for comment by telephone Tuesday.
The campaign emails have already been deleted, Wallace said.
It's unclear how the treasurer's office would verify their authenticity.
Carson said, "I am not aware of anyone from treasurer's office who has reached out to us" regarding Brady's emails.
Wallace confirmed that "the treasurer has not reached out to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network."
Asked how Milligan plans to review Brady's emails, Wallace said Milligan "is reaching out to those involved in the campaign and having discussions about what went on and reviewing with Jason what happened."
"This is a part of the reason Jason is on leave, so that he can review his personal documents and campaign activity away from the office and not on state time. Per the campaign, they ended the email accounts when we took office since the campaign did not have the money to pay for them any longer. The [treasurer's] office has only seen printed, hard copies which could have been altered or doctored," Wallace said.
Carson said Wallace also worked for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network for six years through January of this year.
On March 13, Milligan signed an agreement with Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to pay a $1,000 civil penalty for violating state law by hiring his first cousin for a treasurer's office job paying $63,000 a year.
He paid the $1,000 fine upon signing the three-page agreement and also voluntarily reimbursed the state for Sam Swayze's gross salary of $6,941.62 for the period the relative worked for Milligan's office.
Metro on 04/29/2015