by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 28, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The fallout continues from the Arizona Governor’s decision to withdraw her remaining agency nominees for Senate confirmation.
On Monday, Senate President Warren Petersen highlighted an email from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) regarding his chamber’s confirmation process. The communication to all ADEQ staff was from Karen Peters, who was previously nominated to serve as the Department’s Director.
In her message, Peters shared that “Governor Hobbs is taking actions today to keep her chosen agency leaders in place, as the state Senate has not acted on many of her cabinet appointments. As of this morning, I am reassigned into an Executive Deputy Director position, not subject to Senate confirmation, and serve as the Cabinet Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.”
Petersen erupted at the intercepted transmission, writing, “Very disturbing to see that the governor and director of ADEQ blatantly and openly attempting to circumvent the law. Dark day for Arizona.”
Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee also weighed in on the governor’s shocking action. During Tuesday’s State Board of Investment meeting, Yee revealed that she “did not recognize employees from the Arizona Department of Administration or the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions as legally participating members due to the recent actions of the Governor.” The Republican Treasurer added, “Yesterday’s decision by the Governor to pull the nominations of these cabinet-level positions has created chaos and confusion that is contrary to the orderly administration of government business. The absence of lawfully appointed directors of these two agencies creates legal uncertainty and jeopardizes the proceedings of the State Board of Investment.”
The Senate President agreed with Yee’s assessment of the situation at hand, stating, “Treasurer Yee is correct. The Governor has appointed 13 Fake Directors. They are illegitimate and should not be recognized as credible.”
Petersen also noted his chamber “approved 70 percent of her nominees” – a sign that the Senate was moving in good faith to complete its constitutional responsibilities.
However, Petersen warned that the Senate’s confirmation process was “not a rubber stamp” for nominees sent from the Governor’s Office. He asserted that “Vetting is imperative to protect AZs citizens. The founders set up a system of checks and balances for this purpose. Further there was no need to rush her new Fake Director appointments because all of her prior nominees could serve for 1 year without and prior to confirmation.”
The final straw for the Hobbs’ administration appears to have taken place last week, when the Senate’s Committee on Director Nominations voted, along party lines, to recommend a ‘no’ vote on the executive appointment for the Director of the Arizona Department of Housing, Joan Serviss.
In a press release announcing the result of the committee’s vote, the Senate Republican Caucus shared that “during questioning of Serviss, troubling information came to light regarding a history of repeated and seemingly pervasive plagiarism while serving as Executive Director with the Arizona Housing Coalition. The Caucus added, “Over a period of about four and a half years, an alarming number of individual statements were documented as written by other groups, but presented by Ms. Serviss as her own original works,” and “under her leadership, both government entities and the public were misled, threatening the credibility of this organization.”
However, Senate Democrats were outraged by the committee’s rejection of Serviss. Two Senators, Lela Alston and Flavio Bravo, quickly issued a press release, condemning the action. Alston said, “I have sat in more legislative committees than I would like to admit, but I have never seen worse behavior than that which was displayed by Senator Hoffman today. Director Serviss is broadly supported by veterans, housing experts, community members, and those in the advocacy community for this role.” Bravo added, “The accusations Republicans chose to throw were not that of a legislative official who should easily be able to distinguish the difference between an advocacy letter and an academic paper…He (Hoffman) put his own personal disagreements with Governor Hobbs above the dire needs of Arizonans in urgent need of housing.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 27, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
National Republicans are highlighting the massive decline in housing affordability under a Democrat president.
Last week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) posted about housing prices on “X,” highlighting how the inflation under the Biden Administration has put these costs (and dreams of owning a home) out of reach for many Americans. The RNC wrote, “Housing affordability has fallen to the lowest level on record as interest rates rise in response to Bidenflation. ‘That’s Bidenomics!’”
The Housing Affordability Index, supplied by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), showed that mortgage affordability in the U.S. is below ‘100,’ which means that “a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home.”
In a press release issued in mid-September, NAR Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research, Jessica Lautz, said, “Home buyers face the most difficult affordability conditions in nearly 40 years due to limited inventory and rising mortgage interest rates. The impact is exacerbated among first-time buyers who are more likely to be from underrepresented segments of the population.”
NAR lists three reasons affecting buyers’ reticence to purchase homes: “not enough homes available for purchase in buyers’ budgets (34%), buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to drop as higher prices affect affordability (18%) and buyers are waiting for prices to drop (9%).”
Another social media post, from the Chief Economist of Financial Products at Bloomberg LP, Michael McDonough, showed that the monthly mortgage payment for purchasers of existing homes went from $977 in March 2020 to $2,309 today.
Addressing the increasing housing costs for Arizona was a priority for state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during the recently completed legislative session, though those efforts produced few results in a very divided government. Republican lawmakers were able to strike a deal with Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs during the final stretch of the extended session to prohibit the rental tax for Arizona tenants. Arizona Senate Republicans claimed that “approximately 70 municipalities within our state charge this tax,” and that “this tax can cost as much as $200 per month.”
Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr applauded the signing of this bill, explaining how important the removal of rental taxes across the state would be for countless Arizonans. She stated, “Rental prices aren’t going down anytime soon, and Arizona tenants are agonizing over just how much more expensive it is now to rent an apartment or house than ever before. For Metro Phoenix, June of this year saw the second-highest monthly total of evictions since the 2008 Great Recession. According to Maricopa County records, landlords filed to evict nearly 7000 times last month. We needed to act promptly. This bill will provide some help, and I’m proud the Majority Caucus spearheaded this change in tax policy.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 27, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An Arizona lawmaker is pushing back against the City of Mesa’s continued plans to address homelessness within its jurisdiction.
State Representative Barbara Parker released a statement on Tuesday, condemning what she labeled as “the City of Mesa’s misguided and controversial plan to purchase a hotel to house homeless individuals against the wishes of residents.”
The hotel Parker referred to was the acquisition of a property by the Mesa City Council earlier this year with funds allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act. The Council’s vote was 4-3, and the amount for the hotel was $7.4 million. The city is moving to repurpose the hotel to assist with its Off the Streets program, which is “a first step on Mesa’s Housing Path providing immediate shelter with strong support services for Mesa’s most vulnerable including seniors, Veterans, families with young children and single women.”
Representative Parker echoed the concerns of some Mesa residents as their city’s plan nears fruition, saying, “In an alarming display of disregard for the well-being and concerns of the hardworking residents of Mesa, the City Council is pushing forward with its poorly conceived project. The proposed acquisition of the Grand Hotel to house homeless individuals is a clear violation of the trust placed in our local government by our citizens and is a sad failure by Councilmembers to listen to the voices of their constituents. These property owners in Mesa have voiced their legitimate concerns over neighborhood safety, property values, the use of taxpayer funds, and the role of government in addressing homelessness.”
The East Valley legislator also linked the issues of illegal immigration with homelessness in disparaging Mesa’s plan of action. She said, “The City Council’s plan to house the homeless in our community comes at a time when our state is facing significant challenges. The ongoing crisis of illegal immigration, with nearly 10,000 illegal immigrants crossing into Arizona every day, poses a severe threat to our safety and security. This influx brings with it illegal narcotics, weapons, and human trafficking, further straining public resources and contributing to the homelessness issue.”
In April, Mesa Mayor John Giles penned an opinion piece for the Arizona Capitol Times, entitled “City and State Leaders Can Tackle Housing Crisis Together.” He exhorted Arizona officials to adopt “a holistic approach … to address this crisis,” encouraging “state leaders …to work with cities to find real-world solutions by providing funding, creating pragmatic policies and increasing tax credits and vouchers.” Giles highlighted his city’s Off the Streets program as “helping residents navigate to support systems and stable housing.”
Giles ended his piece with a call to proactively address homelessness, writing, “In recent years, I’ve been quoted as saying, homelessness is not AN issue, it is THE issue. I encourage our legislators to partner with local community leaders to turn this around before it’s too late.”
Earlier this month, the Mesa Mayor again championed the Off the Streets program on social media, stating, “Mesa’s Off the Streets Program helps get those experiencing homelessness on a path to stable housing and has a 75% success rate. We appreciate the many community partners who help connect those in need with housing, food, and medical care.”
According to the city’s website, “more than 1,700 individuals and families have been served” under the program as of May 2023.
Representative Parker, however, is not on board with the City’s and the Mayor’s plans. She asserted that “the City Council’s approach fails to address the critical issues of drug addiction and behavioral health that plague our homeless population. The so-called ‘housing-first’ strategy, as adopted by the City of Mesa, has failed time and again in other cities, proving to be a costly and ineffective solution.”
She added, “It is abundantly clear that the City Council is adopting misguided policies without considering the well-being and safety of our community. This action mirrors the failed policies of larger cities like Phoenix and Tucson, policies that have only exacerbated the problems they aimed to solve.” The legislator’s statement ended with a call for the Mesa City Council to “halt this terrible project.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 26, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A year-long political feud over Arizona’s agency nominees has just entered uncharted territory.
On Monday, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Republican Senate President Warren Petersen, informing him that she would “withdraw all director nominations that remain pending before the Senate and pursue other lawful avenues of ensuring State government can continue to function for Arizonans.”
The governor blamed Senate Republicans for not “fulfilling (their) statutory obligations in good faith,” adding that they have proven themselves “unable or unwilling to carry out a valid process for confirming nominees.” She specifically attacked the “complete lack of fitness” of chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, Jake Hoffman; and she accused him of “disrespectful behavior” and attempts to “leverage the confirmation” of qualified nominees.
Senate Republicans were quick to respond to the governor’s action. President Warren Petersen issued a statement, saying, “This move by the Executive Branch showcases another prime example of an elected official who believes they’re above the law and will go to extreme measures to bypass the requirements of the law when they don’t get their way. The law is very specific on who is to run our state agencies. Without directors fulfilling these obligations, the legality of every decision made by these state agencies is dubious, and litigation against the state would surely prevail.”
Petersen promised Arizonans that the process for vetting and confirming Hobbs’ nominees was, in fact, working and that legislators would be awaiting a new list of appointments from the state’s chief executive. He said, “Our members of the Committee on Director Nominations will continue to be professional and stand ready to resume the confirmation hearings created to critically vet her appointments in order to protect the people of Arizona from government overreach and tyranny from unelected bureaucrats. The process is working. Because of the committee’s thorough vetting, we have been able to recommend several directors for appointment and have also rejected those who proved they were not competent to serve. We are prepared to receive a new list of nominations. If they are competent and not hyper-partisan, they will have no problem getting confirmed.”
The primary target of the governor’s outrage, Senator Jake Hoffman, also released a statement to respond to the new developments. Hoffman stated, “With this latest stunt, Katie Hobbs has doubled down on her commitment to weaponizing the government of Arizona to enact her extreme far-left agenda. The people of our state deserve highly qualified, non-partisan individuals to lead these agencies, instead Hobbs has chosen to nominate partisans and ideologues. Hobbs is the only person to blame for her nominees struggling to succeed under actual due diligence. She should have done her homework prior to making her nominations, yet she chose not to and is now attempting to blame everyone else except herself for her failures.”
The East Valley legislator added, “If the Governor wishes to limit her own authority by foregoing rulemaking and other director-required activities in the absence of confirmed directors, we certainly welcome this limitation of her power. Hobbs has made it abundantly clear that she has no intention of working constructively with the Legislature the voters gave her. Instead, she’s choosing to throw petulant temper tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. The only ones who stand to lose in the wake of her childish games are the citizens of Arizona. I’m incredibly disappointed, but I’m certainly not surprised.”
According to the Governor’s Office, the following nominees were withdrawn and reassigned as Executive Deputy Directors of their respective agencies:
- Elizabeth Thorson, Arizona Department of Administration
- Angie Rodgers, Arizona Department of Economic Security
- Karen Peters, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
- Carmen Heredia, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
- David Lujan, Arizona Department of Child Safety
- Jackie Johnson, Arizona Department of Gaming
- Joan Serviss, Arizona Department of Housing
- Barbara Richardson, Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions
- Lt. Col Dana Allmond, Arizona Department of Veterans Services
- Alec Esteban Thomson, Arizona State Lottery
- Cynthia Zwick, Residential Utility Consumer Office
- Lisa Urias, Arizona Office of Tourism
- Robyn Sahid, Arizona State Land Department
Hobbs’ release also noted that at the Committee’s current pace, Hoffman’s Senate Committee would “be holding nomination hearings well into (her) second term” – a comment (and a bold prediction) that is certain to intensify the political fires between the Governor’s Office and Legislative Republicans as they prepare to enter the second year of a very divided government.
The Arizona Senate Democrats Caucus sided with the governor, writing, “Jake Hoffman hijacked the Director Confirmation process for his own extremist agenda against abortion access. This waste of taxpayer dollars & time desperately needed to end. Arizonans can be confident that their government is running with sound and stable leadership.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 24, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Republican legislators are cheering on a recent legal opinion by the state’s top prosecutor.
On Wednesday, Arizona House Judiciary Chairman Quang Nguyen and Vice Chair Selina Bliss announced that they had received an answer from Attorney General Kris Mayes on the 1487 complaint they had filed with her office over “a recently passed City of Phoenix ordinance allowing the illegal donation of 599 unclaimed firearms to Ukraine’s national police force.” The lawmakers shared that the attorney general “issued an investigative report, agreeing with the legislators that the ordinance violates multiple state laws and directing the City to repeal it within 30 days.”
Nguyen and Bliss issued a joint statement, saying, “We appreciate the Attorney General’s report affirming the City of Phoenix ordinance’s violation of state law. It is frustrating that Mayor Kate Gallego and Councilmembers were informed of this as far back as July 3, yet Mayor Gallego then willfully, disregarded state law and rushed the transfer of these firearms abroad. Then, while a pending investigation into the ordinance’s legality was underway, the City attempted to cancel the arrangement altogether to avoid the Attorney General’s report. That’s not leadership, it’s shameful. As public officials, it is imperative that we uphold the rule of law and respect our state constitution. Witnessing Mayor Gallego blatantly neglect this responsibility, especially with full awareness of the law and its implications, is disheartening.”
Mayes’ report looked at a 2017 Arizona Supreme Court ruling to assist with her determination of the matter at hand, finding, “In 2017, the Arizona Supreme Court considered whether a Tucson ordinance providing for the destruction of firearms could coexist with an Arizona statute barring firearms destruction. The Court held that firearms regulation is a matter of statewide concern, thereby precluding cities from enacting firearms ordinances that conflict with state law.”
The Attorney General’s office concluded that this judicial precedent “is controlling here,” adding, “Arizona law requires cities to dispose of unclaimed firearms by selling them in the manner provided by statute, yet the Ordinance provides for Phoenix to dispose of its unclaimed firearms by donating them to Ukraine via an export company. Because a ‘donation’ is not a ‘sale’ – and because the Ordinance conflicts with A.R.S. 12-945 in other related respects – it violates that statute, and therefore also violates A.R.S. 13-3108(A) and A.R.S. 12-943.”
The report from Attorney General Mayes may have sided with the Arizona lawmakers on the legality of the City of Phoenix’s actions, but addressed the motivations behind the City’s efforts, encouraging adherence to the law in future attempts or vehicles. The Office ended its report by stating, “While the Office believes that controlling legal authorities compel this conclusion, this report should not be construed as a rebuke of the public spirit underlying the City’s desire to aid Ukraine or as an endorsement of the policy underlying Arizona’s firearms disposition statutes. Nor should it discourage future support and donations to Ukraine or elsewhere that can be carried out in compliance with Arizona law.”
In a statement, Mayes expressed concern over the existence of the laws that she had just found to be controlling in this situation. She said, “While my office has determined that Phoenix’s ordinance conflicts with state laws concerning firearm disposal, I am deeply troubled by these statutes. These laws are inflexible and frankly offensive to the victims of crime and communities affected by gun violence. The laws essentially mandate that confiscated firearms, most of which have been used in crimes, must be resold and put back on the streets. That is an insult to the survivors and victims of the original gun violence. These laws perpetrate a cycle where weapons are reintroduced into the very communities that have already been harmed by gun violence. The families of people who are murdered or maimed by gun violence should not have to live with the knowledge that those weapons are still on the streets.”
Mayes called for legislators to “focus on passing sensible gun legislation instead of filing complaints against cities like Phoenix.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
