PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA – The Pima County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted unanimously to name Jan Lesher Acting County Administrator. Lesher has been leading County Administration as the Chief Deputy County Administrator since Oct. 23 when County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry was badly injured in a bicycling accident.
Huckelberry remains in a medical facility recovering from his injuries and there is no estimate yet on when he may return to work.
Though Lesher has been acting as County Administrator since Huckelberry’s accident, the Board said it took the formal action naming her Acting County Administrator to ensure the continuity of county operations and to remove any ambiguity about her authority to lead the county, including signing any documents or acting in the county’s name under authority designated by the Board to the County Administrator.
Lesher said she looks forward to Huckelberry’s return, adding that he has ample accrued leave to cover his convalescence. If the term of his recovery approaches the limit of his accrued leave, County Human Resources will review with him and his family appropriate changes to his employment status in accordance with the terms of his employment contract, she said.
“The Board and everyone else in Pima County government want Chuck to know they miss him terribly, that we are heartened by reports of his continued progress, and that we send him our best wishes for a complete recovery and return to work as County Administrator,” Lesher said.
Lesher, a Tucson native, has worked for Pima County since 2010 and as Chief Deputy County Administrator since 2017. She previously worked as Chief of Staff for the Department of Homeland Security, as Chief of Staff of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, and director of the Arizona Commerce Department. She also has served on numerous community and charitable boards and committees and was named Public Policy Leader of the Year in 2008 by the Arizona Capitol Times and Metropolitan Tucson Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 2005.