Tom Augherton is currently a state regulatory director appointed by former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey in December, 2018. Originally a native of Washington, D.C., his career work has been in government affairs and legislative public policy, for the Federal and Arizona state government, and in the private sector for the Arizona REALTORS. Prior State service includes the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona State Retirement System. His service at the State Capitol began in 1976 as a Senate legislative intern. He is a graduate of George Washington University, BA Journalism, the University of Arizona, MA Journalism, and Arizona State University, with a PhD and DPA in Public Administration (ABD). He has CPMs (certificates in public management) from ASU and U of A. Augherton was a 1998 Council of State Governments (CSG) National Toll Fellow, and completed the Executive Leadership Training Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. A Cave Creek, AZ resident for 41 years, he is a former Arizona Town Hall delegate, Valley Leadership graduate, a Superior Court appointee to the Maricopa County Judiciary Advisory Council, and graduate of the Strategic Leadership for State Executives program at Duke University’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. In 2021-22, he served on the Council of State Governments, National Center for Interstate Compacts Technical Assistance panel.
In Cave Creek, Augherton served on the Town Council, Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Adjustment in the 1990’s and was the first voter-elected Town mayor. He was the Town’s Regional Council member at the Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG) from 1996-1999.
He returned to Town Council in December 2022 and was reelected in 2024.