theresa cullen
Hobbs’ Nominee to ADHS Fails To Secure Senate Committee Support

February 12, 2023

By Daniel Stefanski |

Governor Katie Hobbs has been reticent to transmit her nominations for state agency heads to the state legislature, and the effort by the Arizona Senate to bring transparency to the process may not lend itself to greater cooperation by the Ninth Floor going forward.

On Thursday, the Arizona Senate Committee on Director Nominations met for its first meeting to consider two of the nominees that Governor Hobbs sent to the legislature. A.R.S. 38-211 prescribes that “the governor shall nominate and with the consent of the senate appoint such officer,” and that “the governor shall during each (legislative) session nominate a person who meets the requirements of law for such office and promptly transmit the nomination to the president of the senate.” The Senate’s constitutional responsibility to provide “consent” for Governor Hobbs’ nominees led to President Warren Petersen forming this committee to “recommend a course of action for the Senate to take on each individual.”

But Governor Hobbs has only fulfilled her constitutional responsibility to “promptly transmit” a select number of nominees – and two of them were before the Senate Committee Thursday. The first individual up for consideration was Angie Rodgers, the nominee to lead the Department of Economic Security. Rodgers has been the President and CEO for the Arizona Food Bank Network and previously served in the Napolitano administration as the governor’s Human Services Policy Advisor. Though Republicans on the committee did have concerns about how she would lead this agency, the vote to favorably recommend her to the full Senate was unanimous.

It was the second nominee considered by the committee who brought the most contention, however. Dr. Theresa Cullen, who Hobbs nominated to run the Department of Health Services, is currently the Director of the Pima County Public Health Department – a position she has held since June 1, 2020. Both Dr. Cullen and Rodgers were announced in the first round of future nominees on December 27, 2022, by then-Governor-elect Hobbs.

Arizona Republicans pointed out multiple inconsistencies in her answers throughout the afternoon. On two occasions, Senate President Petersen sharply chided her responses and served a warning about her future as a public servant, writing, “Any nominee who gets caught lying at a confirmation hearing is not fit to serve the state of Arizona. The 9th floor could learn from Napolitano. Napolitano did not appoint radical lefties as directors.”

After enough time was spent on vetting Dr. Cullen’s past (especially her leadership over the Pima County health response to the COVID-19 pandemic) and her ability to lead this Department in the future, members of the committee voted against recommending her nomination to the full Senate with a party line 3-2 vote.

Senate Republicans, who now have a decision to make about Dr. Cullen’s future employment at the Department of Health Services, had plenty to say after the hearing was complete. Senator John Kavanagh tweeted, “Her repressive covid policies when she led Pima County Health included an illegal 10pm-5am curfew.” Senator Sonny Borrelli wrote, “Why would @GovernorHobbs appoint Dr. Cullen to a critical position, such as state health director, when her testimony in committee clearly showed she makes decisions based on politics and not commonsense or data?” Senator Anthony Kern stated, “Dr. Cullen prided herself on locking down Pima County, ruining the livelihoods of her constituents while she raked in a comfortable $200,000/yr. salary.” Committee Member Janae Shamp said, “Dr. Cullen provided misleading responses and failed to accept responsibility for her record.” Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope tweeted, “I respect Dr. Cullen’s experience, but her poor judgement in Pima County reflects poorly on her – and even more poorly on Hobbs.” And Senator Wendy Rogers left no doubt with her thoughts from the hearing: “True leaders never reply, ‘I don’t know’ to tough questions. Shame on @GovernorHobbs for nominating Pima county’s MEDICAL TYRANT Dr. Theresa Cullen for State Health Director.”

Governor Katie Hobbs was also not happy after the hearing – but for different reasons than legislative Republicans. She released a statement, saying, “What we witnessed today was an exercise in political theater, and it is a shame that Arizonans have to suffer for it. Dr. Admiral Cullen has a distinguished career in medicine and public health that spans decades, and I stand by her nomination. Her dedication and vision in making our state the healthiest it can be is exactly what Arizona needs right now.”

Daniel Scarpinato, a Chief of Staff to former Governor Doug Ducey, had some valuable insight about the committee process and genesis, tweeting, “All Governors must work with the Legislature. It’s part of our process and a system taught in basic civics. The Arizona Senate gets to determine how they want to conduct the process, and I think the one they have developed is a very good one.” He went on to say that “No one can accuse this AZ Senate Committee of being a partisan exercise. Their questions are fair and appropriate. Sen. Hoffman is doing an excellent job as Chairman.”

Both Dr. Cullen’s and Rodgers’ nominations now head to the full Senate chamber for a vote on their future in the Hobbs’ administration.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

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