I worked for Gary Yaquinto when he was a low level bureaucrat at the Arizona House of Representatives.

Source

Maricopa County official quits amid internal probe

by Yvonne Wingett - Nov. 30, 2010 02:54 PM

The Arizona Republic

Maricopa County's director of human resources has abruptly quit amid an internal investigation into her performance.

Elizabeth Yaquinto submitted her two-sentence resignation letter to Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson on Nov. 22, saying "this letter constitutes my resignation from my employment with Maricopa County."

According to her letter, the resignation was effective Nov. 29.

Yaquinto could not be reached for comment. Wilson had no comment.

County Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Andy Kunasek said they were surprised by the resignation.

"Lizz was a professional and I was very surprised at how abrupt her resignation was," Wilcox told The Arizona Republic. "All I know is that the investigation into her had to do with her timeliness at work. I imagine I'll be briefed on the situation. But Lizz had big plans for the department, so that's why I was real surprised."

The newspaper learned that county officials were reviewing Yaquinto's attendance, and may have been reviewing garage logs to determine how often she was came and went, and computer records to determine how often she logged onto the county system.

It is unclear how the examination into Yaquinto's performance will proceed.

Wilcox said the county likely will perform a national search to fill the position.

Yaquinto was placed on paid administrative leave as Director of Workforce Management and Development, according to a terse Nov. 15 letter from Wilson.

Wilson demanded that Yaquinto surrender her county badge, phone and laptop and any other county property, keep away from county facilities, and check in with Wilson or a designee by phone before 9 a.m. each workday.