One of the Arizona Governor’s chief nemeses will be returning for duty in the upcoming legislative session.
Last week, it was reported that Senator Jake Hoffman would be reprising his role as the Chairman of the Arizona Senate Committee on Director Nominations (DINO).
“We’ve seen the tragic fallout from Katie Hobbs’ fake director scheme and its impacts on Arizonans in recent months, including the death of a child in DCS custody and a major $2 million fraudulent transfer of taxpayer dollars from DOH,” said Chairman Hoffman. “These heartbreaking or otherwise incredibly serious incidents could have been avoided had she followed the law and taken the Senate confirmation process seriously. When her illegal ploy didn’t work, she spent millions of dollars trying to flip control of the Legislature to get her radical nominees approved by Democrats and failed miserably. The committee invites Katie Hobbs to come to the table with sane, nonpartisan, qualified nominees, and we will approve them. What we won’t do is rubberstamp unqualified radicals.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen told AZ Free News, “I formed the DINO committee to make sure nominations are competent and nonpartisan. In the past, we have seen Governor nominees get approved with very little vetting. With a thorough review of each nominee, we will assure that our citizens have the best directors possible.”
On February 2, 2023, Petersen announced the formation of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, tasking this panel “with gathering information and evaluating qualifications on the governor’s executive appointments in order to recommend a course of action for the Senate to take on each individual.” The Senate President appointed five members to serve on the committee – three Republicans and two Democrats.
Over the next several months, the committee held multiple hearings for Hobbs’ nominees. Although Hobbs was upset that not every one of her nominees received a passing grade, Petersen reminded observers that the process chosen by the Senate had “approved 70 percent of her nominees,” adding that “we are not a rubber stamp.”
Treasurer Yee is correct. The Governor has appointed 13 Fake Directors. They are illegitimate and should not be recognized as credible.
The Senate process was working to confirm nominees. We approved 70 percent of her nominees. But we are not a rubber stamp. 1of2. https://t.co/BSWzIX4fmj
In September 2023, Hobbs sent a letter to 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.”
After receiving Hobbs’ correspondence, Petersen stated, “This move by the Executive Branch showcases another prime example of an elected official who believes they’re already above the law and will go to extreme measures to bypass the requirements of the law when they don’t get their way.” Petersen also warned of the consequences of Hobbs’ unprecedented actions, saying, “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.”
It didn’t take long for Petersen’s warning to come to fruition. One day after his statement, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee held a Board of Investment Meeting and refused to recognize “employees from the Department of Administration or the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions as legally participating members.”
The Arizona State Senate then filed a lawsuit in the Maricopa County Superior Court against Hobbs in December 2023 over her refusal “to nominate agency directors, bypassing the Senate’s advice and consent processes.” The lawsuit asked the Court to declare that the Governor has violated state law and to require her to nominate directors to any of the agencies missing Senate-confirmed heads.
Earlier this year, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott A. Blaney issued a ruling in the lawsuit, concluding that the Governor “has improperly, unilaterally appointed de facto directors for these 13 agencies, [and] must comply with the procedures and deadlines in ARS 38-211 (B) & (C) for appointment of the agency directors.”
In his ruling, Judge Blaney wrote, “It is also not lost on the Court that the Executive Deputy Directors are the same individuals that the Governor previously nominated and forwarded to the Senate for review, but withdrew when she grew frustrated with the Senate…Under Arizona law, directors run the respective administrative agencies and are appointed to their important positions through a statutorily defined process. That process requires oversight by the legislative branch. Here the Governor willfully circumvented that statutory process and eliminated the Legislative branch from its oversight role.”
Judge Blaney also asserted that “if the Court were to agree that the Governor can side-step applicable statutes in this manner to arrive at her desired end state, it would render meaningless [all statutes governing this process].” The judge stated that “the Court therefore cannot arrive at any statutory interpretation that results in elimination of the Senate’s consent role from the statutory scheme.”
Blaney ended his ruling by expressing his desire for both the Governor’s Office and Senate Republicans to come together to resolve the matter between them. He wrote, “The Court will set a separate evidentiary hearing or oral argument for a date in late July or early August 2024. This will give these co-equal branches of government an opportunity to meet and confer in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of this dispute.”
Both sides were able to reach an accord soon after the court decision. In August, Arizona Senate Republicans announced that “Governor Katie Hobbs admit[ted] she violated state law through her scheme to circumvent the Senate confirmation process for director nominations and has agreed to submit new candidates for consideration, as required by law.”
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Katie Hobbs Admits to Violating State Law by Circumventing Senate Confirmation Process, Agrees to Nominate New Directors After Court Ruling
Many of those new nominees from the Governor’s Office are expected to be sent to the Arizona Senate at the start of the 57th Legislature in January, setting up potentially contentious battles over their qualifications with legislative Republicans.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Katie Hobbs’ reign as governor of Arizona is off to a rough start. She was booed at the Phoenix Open this past weekend. She looked foolish in an interview before the Super Bowl with Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream—who called out Hobbs for opposing school choice even though she attended a private school. And her pick to lead the Arizona Democratic Party, Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, was rejected.
That’s not a good look for a governor who’s been in office just over a month. And it’s probably why, at this point, Hobbs has chosen to rule by executive action. But her latest failure may be her worst to date.
Earlier this week, Hobbs’ pick to lead the Department of Health Services (DHS), Dr. Theresa Cullen, failed miserably when the Senate rejected her nomination…
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.”
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.”
I'm incredibly troubled by @GovernorHobbs's decision to push forward her nominee to the Dept. of Health Services.
I respect Dr. Cullen's experience, but her poor judgment in Pima County reflects poorly on her — and even more poorly on Hobbs.#AZLeg#AZSenate@AZSenateGOP
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.”
It is a shame that the Senate committee has decided to play partisan politics in this case instead of doing what's best for Arizonans. Dr. Admiral Cullen's dedication and public health expertise is exactly what we need right now. pic.twitter.com/FnOD7IL6Fl
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.”
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. https://t.co/pR8dUgrV9M
