Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s chief of staff announces resignation

By: Clark Corbin - March 21, 2022 5:32 pm

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin presides over the Idaho Senate.

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin presides over the Senate at the Idaho Capitol on April 6, 2021. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice’s McGeachin’s chief of staff has informed McGeachin and a state budget administrator that he will resign when the Idaho Legislature adjourns for the year.

Jordan Watters, McGeachin’s chief of staff, gave McGeachin notice of his resignation on Thursday, according to an email from Watters obtained by the Idaho Capital Sun.

“My agreed upon last day of work in this office will be the end of the 2022 legislative session,” Watters wrote in an email he sent Monday morning to David Fulkerson, deputy administrator with the Idaho Division of Financial Management.

The resignation comes as McGeachin is facing a projected budget shortfall if she doesn’t cut expenses. But even Watters’ resignation won’t be enough to cover the projected shortfall. On Wednesday, Fulkerson told McGeachin and Watters that McGeachin’s office would still face a projected shortfall of about $6,000 even if both of McGeachin’s employees stopped working on March 30.

Boise State Public Radio reporter James Dawson tweeted about Watters’ upcoming resignation earlier on Monday.

The state budget year ends on June 30. Legislative leaders are working to wrap up the legislative session by Friday.

McGeachin is one of eight candidates running for governor in the 2022 Republican primary on May 17.

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Clark Corbin

Clark Corbin has more than a decade of experience covering Idaho government and politics. He has covered every Idaho legislative session since 2011 gavel-to-gavel. Prior to joining the Idaho Capital Sun he reported for the Idaho Falls Post Register and Idaho Education News. His reporting in Idaho has helped uncover a multimillion-dollar investment scam and exposed inaccurate data that school districts submitted to the state.