Newcomer appointed to be Pima County treasurer

The appointment comes a little over a month after documents revealed former treasurer Brian Johnson was facing several allegations of sexual harassment from treasurer’s office employees and was strongly encouraged to resign.

Johnson denies the accusations and claims advances were consensual.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, supervisors said trust needs to be rebuilt with the public and within the department.

“We have an opportunity to rewrite a new chapter in the history of this particular office,” Supervisor Andrés Cano said.

Soto, like Johnson, is a Democrat. State law requires supervisors to appoint a member of the same political party as the official who left office.

After the vote was postponed for two weeks, the Supervisors voted 4-0 on Soto’s appointment, with Republican Supervisor Steve Christy abstaining.

Soto was most recently an independent consultant but previously spent 17 years working for Citigroup, starting as a customer service representative and working his way up to a lead analyst position in supplier management, according to his resume and LinkedIn page.

This appointment will be the fourth treasurer in just over two years, Supervisor Rex Scott told the audience during his motion to nominate Soto. Longtime Treasurer Beth Ford retired in early 2024, and the Supervisors appointed Republican Chris Ackerley, who lost to Johnson in the 2024 election.

Support inside the Treasurer’s Office was largely behind current Chief Deputy Treasurer Jake Martin, who took over operations of the office after Johnson’s resignation. He also took a leading role in protecting an at-will employee who was allegedly the target of some of Johnson’s propositions, he said in previous interviews with the Star. He submitted a letter signed by 23 out of 27 Treasurer’s Office employees with his application, and 11 employees also showed up in support at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Soto acknowledged he is entering the office during a difficult time.

“I want to make sure that they know that they’re supported, that they can voice any concerns, I understand that they really wanted a different candidate, but I’m ready to help them change their mind,” Soto said.

Supervisor Jen Allen said Soto had past management experience in dealing with low staff morale.

“I believe he will use these lessons to draw on the vast experience in the treasurer’s office and work with his team to rebuild climate and rapport in the office,” Allen said.

Soto said he thinks the overlap between his leadership roles at Citigroup and the expectations of the treasurer are what helped his appointment, reflecting on his one-on-one meetings with supervisors, which are often held during political appointment processes.

“So many of their questions were around management,” he said.

Soto managed large financial teams at Citigroup, dealt with contract negotiations, and compliance with government regulations, according to his resume.

Martin said he would ask the employees that backed him for the position to support Soto.

“I know Jorge, I know that he is a very capable and very competent leader and I think he will serve the treasurer’s office very well,” he said. “Trust isn’t going to be rebuilt by words; it’s going to be rebuilt by actions and consistency.

This is Soto’s first time holding public office, and he said he intends to run for another term after his appointment ends.

Soto’s appointment is effective immediately, Pima County wrote in a news release.