Ted Vogt appointed Az Veterans director

Former Tucson-area legislator Ted Vogt has been appointed director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services, Gov. Jan Brewer announced Tuesday.

Vogt, a former Air Force intelligence office, lost a bid for reelection to the state House in November. As Veterans Services director, he replaces Joey Strickland, who resigned after hiring former GOP legislator Terri Proud as an assistant.

"Ted’s military background and management experience make him uniquely qualified for this position," Brewer said in a news release. "As a veteran in his own right, Ted is a passionate advocate for our nation’s military men, women and families. He understands their needs, but he also recognizes their value to our state and our communities."

Brewer pointed out that, as a lawmaker, Vogt sponsored legislation that granted automatic in-state tuition at Arizona's public universities and community colleges to honorably discharged veterans.

Vogt was appointed to the state House in the former LD 30, when Frank Antenori was moved up to fill the state Senate seat of Jonathan Paton, who resigned to run for Congress.

Vogt was elected to the LD 30 seat in 2010, but lost his seat after redistricting went into effect in 2012.

Vogt, 40, graduated from the University of Arizona law school in 2010, and received a History degree from Yale University in 1995.

Janson Theodore "Ted" Vogt was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and grew up in Salt Lake City, where he attended Judge Memorial Catholic High School.

Before entering the Air Force in 2000, he spent five years as an investment banker and advertising executive, as well as as an assistant to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He was also a member of the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.

After serving in Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, he was a briefer for the Air Force secretary and chief of staff.

He left the service in 2006, and moved to Tucson.

During his time in the Legislature, Vogt was a member of ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — and voted with the Republican majority for the controversial SB 1070 bill targeting illegal immigration.

The position of Veterans Services director became open in early April, when Joey Strickland resigned after media reports that a newly hired assistant, Terri Proud, said menstrual cycles might be too problematic for women to be in combat.

Proud, a former Republican legislator from Tucson, was fired over the remarks.

Hiring Proud in the first place went against specific instructions from the governor’s office. Spokesman Matthew Benson said Brewer had warned Strickland not to hire Proud.

“Col. Strickland was given very specific instructions about a year ago to avoid hiring this individual. He chose to do so anyway and unfortunately that individual’s questionable judgment was on display this week with some ill chosen public remarks regarding women in the military," Benson said.

Benson didn’t say why the governor’s office didn’t want Proud hired.

The Republican former lawmaker has a reputation for being controversial. She gained national attention during her time in the Legislature for a viral email exchange where she said women who want abortions should have to watch one first.