By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs is facing a new round of severe criticism and wide condemnation. On July 9th, reports surfaced that Hobbs nominated her Democrat ally and failed District 17 legislative candidate Dana Allmond for a role in the Department of Veterans’ Services. Hobbs then pulled back the nomination and appointed Allmond to a newly created post with a $170,000 annual salary and a $114,000 annual contract for her assistant, Marcus Trombetta.
Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman (R-LD15) released a scathing statement posted to X on Wednesday writing, “Katie Hobbs nominated fellow Dem politician, Dana Allmond, for a cushy gov’t job. Then Katie DEMOTED her. Then Katie invented a job that’s never existed before for her. Then Katie paid her & her asst. nearly $600,000 of YOUR money!
“FULL STATEMENT: Katie Hobbs’ jaw-dropping nearly $600,000 handout of taxpayer money to a former Democrat politician and her assistant for newly invented jobs reeks of corruption.
“It’s sickening that Hobbs continues to treat Arizona’s government like her personal friends-and-family slush fund, doling out lavish six-figure salaries to political cronies.
“With Hobbs it’s clear, when she’s not entangled in pay-to-play schemes, she’s plundering Arizonans’ hard-earned dollars as if they’re her own personal piggy bank.”
Hoffman’s statement aligns well with reporting from the Arizona Capitol Times, which was confirmed by the Department of Economic Security. Per the Times, after her replacement as nominee for head of the Department of Veterans’ Services with John F. Scott II in April, Hobbs reportedly created the role of “senior executive consultant” for Allmond and promptly renewed her state contract.
Hobbs’ press aide Christian Slater told the outlet that Allmond is part of the DES “senior engagement team” in her new role and will be tasked with helping Arizona veterans access DES services. The move follows a 5% reduction in force at the Department of Economic Security, owing to the Governor’s failure to adjust the budget for reduced federal grants.
According to the Times, the terminated staffers at DES received their 2 ½ weeks’ notice just days after Allmond’s new contract became effective.
In a statement, Slater dismissed any connection and attempted to shift blame to the federal budget cuts driven by the Trump administration, ignoring that Hobbs and Democrat legislators had ample opportunity to work with GOP leaders to account for the difference.
“The workforce reduction at DES was an unfortunate consequence of the Trump administration’s reckless cuts that endanger DES’s work to combat fraud and efficiently deliver the critical services Arizonans rely on,” Slater claimed.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Republican legislative leaders have questioned the apparent duplication of duties between the new DES “senior executive consultant,” and the Department of Veterans’ Services existing responsibilities.
Earlier in the year, Sen. Hoffman challenged DES Director Michael Wisehart before the Committee on Director Nominations. Per the Times, Wisehart didn’t refute that the role duplicates the responsibilities but answered that Allmond would help connect veterans with needed services, noting that DES also has programs that work with veterans.
A blistering article issued by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, dating back to March 2024, has also shown that the new role for Allmond is only the most recent in a series of controversial new jobs created by Governor Hobbs. According to the article, at that time, Hobbs had created forty new roles including: six people working in the Office of Resiliency, four new employees in the Office of Tribal Relations, and three new in-house attorneys.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
