Jerry Foxhoven
Courtesy Iowa Department of Human Services

Iowa official fired after quoting Tupac in emails to employees (a lot)

Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven, 66, is apparently a very big Tupac fan, and it appears that his fandom may have just gotten him fired. The FADER points to an article on Associated Press that says Foxhoven “routinely sent messages to employees lauding Shakur’s music and lyrics.” He kept doing it even after at least one person complained, and then last month he sent one to all 4,300 agency employees, telling them “to mark Shakur’s birthday over the weekend by listening to one of his songs,” and Foxhoven was then “abruptly ousted from his job the next work day.”

A spokesman for Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds apparently wouldn’t confirm or deny if Foxhoven’s latest email was the reason he was ousted, and said that “a lot of factors contributed to the resignation of Jerry Foxhoven,” but it’s hard not to wonder if the timing was more than a coincidence.

Foxhoven, 66, who might seem like an unlikely candidate to be such a big Tupac fan and who might have co-workers who don’t share his infinity for The Don Killuminati, didn’t just reference Pac once or twice. AP says that “the agency released 350 pages of emails with the words ‘Tupac’ or ‘2Pac’ sent to and from Foxhoven during his two-year tenure.” The article also mentions that he “hosted weekly ‘Tupac Fridays’ to play his music in the office,” and “traded lyrics with employees and he marked his own 65th birthday with Shakur-themed cookies, including ones decorated with the words ‘Thug life.'”

Sounds to us like this Foxhoven guy just has good taste! You can read more of the story at AP.

UPDATE: Foxhoven responded, saying he doesn’t think his Tupac love got him fired. “I think it’s a coincidence,” he says.