Jake Martin out as Pima County deputy treasurer

Pima County Deputy Treasurer Jake Martin left his position Wednesday after he was told to resign by Treasurer Jorge Soto.

The 23-year-old Martin’s departure marks the second major change in leadership within the county Treasurer’s Office within months. Soto was appointed to head the office in July.

“Recent events have made it difficult to want to continue, and have taken their toll,” read his resignation letter. “It is with a heavy heart, but a clear conscience, that I resign from my position effective immediately.”

He said he didn’t know why Soto asked him to resign, but he was planning to do so anyway.

Soto didn’t provide a reason for the personnel change when asked by a Tucson Sentinel reporter on Thursday.

As a top staffer in the office, Martin was an at-will employee, meaning he did not have civil service protections and could be fired at any time for any reason. He was hired as the deputy treasurer by Soto’s predecessor, who left office earlier this year after being elected in November 2024.

Former Treasurer Brian Johnson abruptly resigned in June while facing allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female staffer.

Johnson the following month filed a notice of complaint, a precursor to a lawsuit, accusing Pima County officials of conspiring to oust him through “unlawful, coercive means” and asked them to pay him $260,618.86 in damages.

Martin previously told the Tucson Sentinel he became aware of his former boss’s in-office conduct in January, but didn’t at first know the full extent of what was happening.
He said he and the county “acted very quickly” when they discovered Johnson victimized more than one person.

Martin on Wednesday referred to the investigation period as a “challenging time.”

“It was difficult to witness that,” he said.
However, Martin added, he was exceptionally proud of his leadership over the Treasurer’s Office in the nearly six-week period between Johnson’s resignation and Soto’s appointment in July.

Martin also applied for the appointment to finish out Johnson’s term, and garnered vocal support from several other staffers in the Treasurer’s Office. Under state law, the Board of Supervisors made the decision to appoint Soto.

Soto, who confirmed Thursday afternoon he’d received a request for public records related to Martin’s position earlier that day from a Tucson Sentinel reporter, declined to immediately comment.

He mentioned he may be open to speaking on the record in the future. “I just want to be careful about what we say,” he said.

As of Thursday afternoon, those records had not yet been provided.