Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs is delaying justice for the victims of a convicted killer, and the State Senate President is furious with her calculation to ignore a recent execution warrant issued by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Last week, the state’s top court issued an execution warrant for a convicted murderer, Aaron Gunches, who was first sentenced to death in 2008 for the killing of Ted Price in 2002. Following an early-December 2022 request from then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich for a warrant of execution, the Arizona Supreme Court finally set an April 6 execution date – even in the face of tremendous opposition from Arizona’s new governor and attorney general.
After receiving the order from the state’s high court, Hobbs issued a lengthy statement, announcing that she would not be fulfilling the execution date for Gunches and justifying her decision. The governor wrote: “Yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches, despite the State withdrawing its motion and informing the Court that the State does not seek to carry out an execution at this time….the State and ADCRR (Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry) does not intend to proceed with an execution on April 6, 2023.”
Arizona’s Senate President, Warren Petersen, was outraged by the governor’s decree, tweeting, “He should absolutely be executed! Imagine if a Republican governor refused to carry out this order made by the court!”
He should absolutely be executed! Imagine if a Republican governor refused to carry out this order made by the court! https://t.co/zhsT5Q3Mlb
Governor Hobbs’ decision to halt Gunches’ execution comes after a chaotic change in policy from the Governor’s and Attorney General’s Offices following the transition of power on January 2, 2023. On January 20, Hobbs established a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner, tasking this individual to review and provide “transparency into the ADCRR lethal injection drug and gas chamber chemical procurement process, execution protocols, and staffing considerations including training and experience.” Hobbs stated then that “Arizona has a history of mismanaged executions that have resulted in serious questions and concerns about ADCRR’s execution protocols and lack of transparency.”
The governor’s rollout of this executive order included cooperation from newly installed Attorney General Kris Mayes, who announced that day that her office “filed a motion to withdraw the warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches.” She announced that her office would “also pause all requests for warrants of execution while the review process (that Hobbs was implementing) is pending.”
Earlier today, my office filed a motion to withdraw the warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches. Given the horrific nature of Mr. Gunches’ crimes, this was an extremely difficult decision to make.
— Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) January 20, 2023
Mayes did acknowledge the family members of the murdered victim who were caught in the middle of the political posturing, tweeting, “My heart goes out to the family of Ted Price. I know this must be an unimaginable situation for them. Families of victims of those on death row deserve sympathy and support from all of us, and I extend mine to Mr. Price’s family today.”
On February 24, Governor Hobbs announced the appointment of retired Judge David Duncan as the Commissioner she previously promised – again repeating her claim about Arizona’s history of “mismanaged executions” despite the past three executions under former Attorney General Brnovich and former Governor Doug Ducey occurring as planned. Also, as with her January 20th statement, the governor expressed confidence in her choice to lead the ADCRR, Ryan Thornell, who was nominated on January 17. Thornell was selected from his role as the Deputy Commissioner of Corrections for the Maine Department of Corrections.
Governor Hobbs gave Thornell another endorsement in her most-recent statement announcing that she would not be going forward with Gunches’ execution, saying, “Director Thornell will continue to build up ADCRR’s staffing and competencies to be able to conduct an execution in compliance with state and federal laws, and will balance that work with the work needed to solve the urgent medical, mental health, and other critical problems the Director has inherited from the prior administration.”
According to Senate sources, though, Thornell’s nomination has not been transmitted to the Arizona Legislature for consent as is constitutionally required. Once the Governor’s Office complies with the Arizona Constitution, Thornell would face a rigorous vetting process by the panel commissioned by President Petersen and chaired by Senator Jake Hoffman. With two – and possibly three – of Hobbs’ original choices to run state agencies already derailed by a lack of vetting from her office, Thornell’s journey – and the stability of the agency he has been tasked to run – faces significant question marks as the governor’s administration hits its third month of operation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A powerful Senate Committee Chairman is encouraging Arizona’s Democrat Governor to show some urgency when it comes to re-nominating an individual to lead the Department of Child Safety (DCS), and he may have a solution as her office considers its next move in the matter.
On Thursday, Senator Jake Hoffman, Chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, sent a letter to Governor Katie Hobbs, transmitting a letter his panel had received “from a coalition of frontline child welfare advocates and providers ‘respectfully requesting consideration for the reinstatement of former DCS Director Mike Faust.’” Senator Hoffman echoed “the pleadings of these dedicated child welfare professionals” in his own letter to the governor.
"The Department of Child Safety and our state's most vulnerable children deserve nothing less than proven experience to be expeditiously returned to that agency." pic.twitter.com/6pyeRx2il0
The letter that the Committee on Director Nominations had received was from a group of 21 individuals, representing licensed Group Home providers, bringing “well over 200 years of child welfare experience in Arizona.” The coalition wrote that “we share a mutual and tremendous respect for the past performance of former Director Faust and appreciate his rigor in holding all our agencies accountable when needed.” They praised Faust’s character, stating, “He is a man of his word and his transparency allowed for effective planning. Although his decisions were not always universally embraced, he could be trusted and he is a man of high moral character and integrity.”
It appears the Governor’s Office received the letter as well.
The coalition requested that the governor consider reinstating Faust to his past position of DCS Director.
Hoffman wrote in his accompanying letter to the governor that he believed “the coalition’s request to be a wise and prudent course of action” for Arizona. He also revealed that he had recently touched base with Faust “about his willingness to serve in this important role once again,” and that the former DCS Director “would be willing to discuss with (Hobbs) the possibility of his returning to lead the agency.”
The Director Nominations Chairman promised a “swift confirmation process should Mr. Faust be nominated to return in his role as the agency’s Director.”
All sides have admitted the importance of this agency and installing a competent individual who will do the work required on behalf of Arizona’s most vulnerable children. After Hobbs’ initial appointee, Matthew Stewart, was forced out of the nomination process by her office, she stated that DCS “has a critical mission protecting Arizona’s most vulnerable population, our children.” Chairman Hoffman wrote in his letter that “there are few executive agencies in Arizona as important as the Department of Child Safety.” And the coalition writing to Governor Hobbs asserted that “leading an agency of nearly 3,000 employees charged to protect and serve over 10,000 children is a daunting task that requires a unique and dedicated leader.”
The ball is now in the Governor’s Office when it comes to taking action on a vacant nomination for DCS Director as vulnerable Arizona children await direction and leadership from the state agency tasked with protecting their interests.
Hoffman’s committee, which was commissioned by Senate President Warren Petersen, has so far held two meetings to consider four of Governor Hobbs’ nominees for key positions in state agencies. The Committee on Director Nominations voted to recommend two of the individuals it has vetted, voted against recommending another, and held the fourth for future considerations. Governor Hobbs has been slow to transmit her nominations to the Arizona Senate for consent as is her constitutional obligation. The failed nomination last month of Matthew Stewart for DCS Director occurred independently of the committee process.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Legislative Republicans continue to search for avenues to reach an accord with the Governor’s Office on the new fiscal year budget, and on Tuesday, the leaders of the House and Senate took a new approach to bring Arizona’s chief executive to the negotiating table.
House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen sent a joint letter to Governor Hobbs, requesting a meeting with the Ninth Floor over the stalled budget negotiations. After receiving the Governor’s budget proposal in January, both the House and Senate passed a budget that was then vetoed by Hobbs.
Toma and Petersen’s letter references the vetoed budget and the Governor’s actions to bring Arizona dangerously close to a shutdown: “The Legislative Budget you vetoed on February 16th represented shared, ongoing funding priorities. That budget would have prevented a government shutdown, while leaving the available one-time funds untouched for executive and legislative negotiation of priorities. Our budget was the responsible approach to governing in a time of economic uncertainty.”
The legislative generals struck a balanced and reasonable approach in their letter to Governor Hobbs, highlighting an alleged unwillingness to negotiate by her office: “In our first and only meeting to discuss the budget, your office stated it was unwilling to receive feedback or take questions. Obviously, we need some level of agreement to pass a budget. We believe we can achieve most of our priorities and include yours that are reasonable. For example, we have several members who support additional funding for School Facilities Building renewal, the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), and transportation projects.”
Tuesday’s letter is the latest salvo in a continuing saga between the two sides on the budget negotiations. Both parties remain far apart on key details needed to forge an agreement before the June 30th deadline.
Daniel Scarpinato, one of former Governor Doug Ducey’s Chiefs of Staff, responded to the allegations of Hobbs’ refusal to negotiate with Republican legislators: “I cannot imagine inviting legislators up to the 9th floor and refusing to take questions. We always took questions from Republicans, Democrats and the media. They didn’t always like the answers – but I just can’t imagine saying something like this to elected leaders.”
I cannot image inviting legislators up to the 9th floor and refusing to take questions. We always took questions from Republicans, Democrats and the media. They didn’t always like the answers — but I just can’t imagine saying something like this to elected leaders. https://t.co/CBSm2osqRB
In a press conference shortly after the receipt of the letter, Governor Hobbs was asked about the request for enhanced negotiations and what her response would be to President Petersen and Speaker Toma. The governor inferred that her office had, in fact, reached out to legislative leadership after her veto of the budget, saying that she saw the letter “as a response to (her office) reaching out,” and that she was “encouraged that we can move forward on a process of negotiating a budget that we can all agree on.”
Hobbs’ characterization of her office reaching out to Republicans in the state legislature appears to correspond with a line in Petersen and Toma’s letter that outlines “a request from (Hobbs’) office to discuss priorities and identify differences to avoid a government shutdown.” However, as the letter highlights, this request came one day after Hobbs “created and committed funding to her ‘Flip the Leg Fund,’” which took place on the heels of unanswered legislative questions about her controversial Inaugural Fund. This announcement from Hobbs’ political operation left Republicans in no mood to work with a governor who is simultaneously financing election challenges to vulnerable legislators at the state capitol.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs is attempting to showcase her policy initiatives in the first 100 days of her fledgling administration, but her efforts are quickly being overwhelmed by her veto threats and lack of transparency surrounding her nominees to lead state agencies.
This week, the Arizona Senate’s Committee on Director Nominations held its second meeting since President Warren Petersen commissioned the panel to vet and provide recommendations to the full chamber. According to Senate sources, the governor’s office has only transmitted eleven of her nominees to the Legislature and continues to withhold a number of individuals from the required constitutional consideration at the present time. Earlier this month, the Director Nominations Committee took up the nominations of two of Hobbs’ appointees, recommending Angie Rodgers for the Department of Economic Security, and disapproving of Dr. Theresa Cullen for the Department of Health Services. The Senate later rejected Dr. Cullen’s nomination after an extensive vetting process.
The second meeting featured two more of the governor’s nominees – this time for the Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Department of Administration (ADOA). On January 6, during Governor Hobbs’ first week in office, she announced Jennifer Toth and Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson to lead ADOT and ADOA, respectively. Hobbs introduced these nominees in a press release, saying, “The expertise represented in this group makes me excited about the bright future we will be able to build together.”
Jennifer Toth was previously the Director for the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, and she also served as the State Engineer and Deputy Director of ADOT. After facing questions from lawmakers on the committee, she earned a favorable recommendation with a 5-0 vote.
The Governor’s Office was very pleased with this progress and issued a statement following the hearing, stating, “Jennifer Toth’s nomination to lead the @ArizonaDOT is moving forward to a full vote in the Senate. She is the perfect person to help lead Arizona toward becoming one of the most reliable transportation systems in the nation.”
Jennifer Toth’s nomination to lead the @ArizonaDOT is moving forward to a full vote in the Senate. She is the perfect person to help lead Arizona toward becoming one of the most reliable transportation systems in the nation. pic.twitter.com/mFKcbiU5l9
Much like the first hearing, though, the second nominee of the day brought the greatest controversy and an unfavorable result for the Ninth Floor. Alvarado-Thorson, the Deputy Director of ADOA since 2018, was accused by lawmakers of evading their questions and displaying a lack of knowledge about- Hobbs’ agenda for ADOA. President Petersen was clearly tuning in to the hearing, releasing the following statement after the questions and (non)-answers were complete: “Looks like the new tactic of the 9th floor is to tell their nominees to evade or not answer questions. Glad the committee made it clear that no one will advance who does not directly answer questions. Citizens deserve direct and honest answers.”
Looks like the new tactic of the 9th floor is to tell their nominees to evade or not answer questions. Glad the committee made it clear that no one will advance who does not directly answer questions. Citizens deserve direct and honest answers.
The lack of advancement that President Petersen was referring to was Chairman Jake Hoffman’s decision at the end of the meeting to hold Alvarado-Thorson’s nomination from an official recommendation. When addressing his decision, Senator Hoffman told AZ Free News, “Katie Hobbs’ nominees should not expect to disrespect the confirmation process by dodging legitimate questions and still gain the approval of the committee. Hobbs needs to appoint nominees who will give honest and truthful answers during their confirmation hearing, instead of playing political games.”
In a release sent a day after the hearing’s conclusion, Senator Hoffman listed the issues uncovered from the questioning of Alvarado-Thorson, including that Alvarado-Thorson “does not know what the Hobbs Administration’s vision is for ADOA,” that she “was not included in the conversations about the decision to block $210 million in federal COVID grants authorized by former Governor Doug Ducey,” and that during her gubernatorial campaign, Hobbs had “made it abundantly clear that she wanted specific pro-abortion directors to oversee the Department of Administration.”
On Tuesday, Toth was confirmed by the Arizona Senate by voice vote, making her the first Hobbs’ nominee to cross the finish line of a transparent constitutional process spearheaded by President Warren Petersen and Chairman Jake Hoffman.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Last week, the bipartisan Arizona Senate Government Committee accomplished something that will be a rare feat under the divided government between the State Legislature and the Governor’s Office: a unanimous 8-0 vote.
The panel, chaired by Senator Jake Hoffman, met on February 19, to consider one of Senator Wendy Rogers’ bills, SB 1299, which deals with the governor reporting inauguration expenses. According to the Arizona Senate’s purpose for the bill, SB 1299 “requires the Governor’s office to publish on its website, within 15 days after the inauguration ceremony, information detailing each organization that organized, supported or funded the ceremony.”
This issue rose to importance earlier this year as Arizona lawmakers received murky and incomplete information about Hobbs’ inaugural fund, which totaled more than $1.5 million in the lead-up to her inauguration at the State Capitol on January 5. After multiple weeks of questions, Hobbs’ campaign manager released the donor list, showing 120 contributors to the fund. Arizona Public Services (APS) gave $250,000, Blue Cross Blue Shield sent $100,000 – as did both the Realtors Issues Mobilization Committee and Sunshine Residential Homes.
But even with the uncovered donor list, lawmakers still wanted more transparency from Hobbs – and so far, they haven’t received full cooperation from Arizona’s new chief executive. Reports showed that the inauguration cost $207,000, which was a fraction of the funds received from the Hobbs Inaugural Fund. With knowledge of how much was raised and spent from the fund, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma sent a letter to the Governor on January 26, asking her to “commit the balance of her $1.3 million inaugural fund proceeds to the state, as past governors have, for the sake of transparency & accountability to the people of Arizona.”
The legislative leaders wrote that “Given….the Inaugural Fund’s own descriptive title, Arizonans would have reasonably anticipated that any excess funds would be used for state interests. In any event, given the public resources that were utilized to solicit funds for the Inaugural Fund and to host the inauguration, it would be inappropriate to utilize any monies in the Inaugural Fund to influence an election.”
More than two weeks after the receipt of the Petersen-Toma letter, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Livingston fired off his own letters to Governor Katie Hobbs and her campaign manager, “asking for a complete accounting of the funds, as well as any documents and other records associated with their solicitation.” Representative Livingston’s press release stated that the Governor has so far refused to follow in her predecessors’ footsteps and transfer the leftover money in the Inaugural Fund to the state’s Protocol Fund, as the Petersen-Toma letter broached – nor, as Livingston added, has she responded to their letter. Livingston’s letter came just before SB 1299 was considered before – and passed – by the Senate Government Committee.
SB1299, which would require more transparency for inauguration funds, passed by a unanimous vote today of 8-0 in the Senate Government Committee. I'm looking forward to reviewing the information I requested from Governor Hobbs and her campaign manager relevant to this bill. https://t.co/epjxxlPMQV
Senator Rogers’ legislation would require the Governor’s office to post the name of each committee or entity or entity that is organizing, supporting, or funding the inauguration; the name and address of the chair and treasurer of the organization; the name and address of an individual that donates anything of value to the organization; the name and address of any corporation or business entity that donates anything of value to the organization; and an itemized list of the amount and type of goods and services purchased by the organization.
Democrat Senator Juan Mendez voted to approve SB 1299 in the Government Committee, but wanted the public to know that he didn’t want his “yes vote to legitimize the irrelevant discussion that we all just had to sit through,” adding his wish that “the bills we focused on were bills that would actually address real Arizona problems and weren’t clearly a waste of public resources for the use of political theater to fundraise off of.”
Chairman Hoffman had the last word on the bill, saying that “we want to prevent state elected officials from breaking the law by misusing public funds to influence the outcome of elections.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
