Bryan Responds After Former VI Treasury Director Files Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleging Retaliation Over Demotion

The Office of the Governor has responded to a whistleblower lawsuit from the Department of Finance's former Treasury Director, alleging that she had been demoted in retaliation for complaints against Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy.

Lucy Nuñez, the former Treasury Director, claims to have been unilaterally removed from her position in December and assigned as Financial Manager at the Bureau of Information Technology – a demotion. The job change, she says, came a few months after she met with Kevin Williams Sr., Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s chief of staff, to discuss her concerns about Mr. McCurdy's suitability for his position.

In early October, Ms. Nuñez wrote to Governor Bryan asking to meet. In the letter, she says that her request to reconcile financial records in an efficient way was ignored by Department of Finance leadership in favor of a method that was slower and required more work. She described a lack of support from Commissioner McCurdy in keeping staff on task. “Instead, the responsibility has fallen solely on me despite my efforts to find alternative measures to meet the accounting criteria mentioned above.” Ms. Nuñez also complained about being shut out of recruitment efforts, and having her leadership ability undermined, as she asked to meet with Governor Bryan to discuss her concerns.

Instead of the governor, Ms. Nuñez reportedly met with his Chief of Staff Mr. Williams on October 24. Afterwards, “Plaintiff noticed that Kevin McCurdy began tasking lower-ranking employees within the Department of Finance with duties that were typically reserved to Plaintiff as the Treasury Director,” according to the lawsuit. Additionally, he allegedly began making “repeated derogatory comments about Plaintiff's fitness to serve as Treasury Director which increased in frequency after the meeting.”