The Arizona Senate’s MAGA Fascist Star Chamber has claimed another victim (nominee) of Governor Hobbs. The Associated Press reports, 2nd Hobbs pick, head of Arizona child welfare agency, exits:
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has had a second nominee to serve in her administration drop out.
The Democratic governor announced Thursday that Matthew Stewart, her selection to lead the state’s Department of Child Services, was leaving the position in the “best interest of all parties involved.”
She offered no further details in her statement.
Stewart had been at the helm for only six weeks. He was also the first Black director of the agency.
Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday said Stewart was asked to resign. State Sen. Jake Hoffman said in a statement that Stewart had made “questionable moves on consulting contracts” and had received a reprimand while working at the agency in 2020.
Republicans accused Hobbs of not thoroughly vetting nominees.
Oh really? You mean like this? IOKIYAR.
Indeed. For example, Don Herrington was director of @AZDHS for 18 months in clear violation of ARS 38-211E without being confirmed (max is 12 months).
In fact, Ducey never even sent his name to the Senate. Where was the concern back then, eh? pic.twitter.com/w9UvGdPFJ2
— Will Humble (@willhumble_az) February 9, 2023
This all comes on the heels of the governor withdrawing her nomination earlier this month of Dr. Theresa Cullen to lead the state Department of Health Services.
A Republican-led state Senate committee considering Cullen’s nomination raised concerns about pandemic business closures and curfews in Pima County, where Cullen serves as the public health director. So, Cullen opted not to proceed with the nomination.
.@CmurphyH : "We were prepared for a legitimate hearing and what this was was an ambush.”
— Will Humble (@willhumble_az) February 16, 2023
Former Arizona Department of Public Health Director Will Humble writes, Senate committee doesn’t ‘vet’ state agency nominees. It sabotages them:
I’m a big fan of checks and balances. You might even call me an evangelist.
The founders of the U.S. and Arizona constitutions were careful to decentralize power. Divided government (and the natural tension between the branches) are big reasons why our republic is so resilient and has stood the test of time.
Legislative branch oversight of the executive branch is essential.
Why? Because legislative oversight of executive agencies builds accountability. Accountability makes government responsive and effective.
When I first heard about the new Arizona Senate Director Nominations Committee, I thought, now there’s a good idea. The new committee might provide more in-depth oversight of nominees to important director positions.
In my experience, the old method of screening director nominations in standing committees often led to cursory candidate reviews.
But what looked good on paper turned out to be bad in practice.
Real bad.
Dr. Cullen’s ‘hearing’ was a sham
Exhibit A comes last week when the newly formed Committee on Director Nominations heard Gov. Katie Hobbs’ nominee for the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Dr. Theresa Cullen.
That “hearing” foreshadowed a brutal, if not impossible, confirmation process more intent on using political litmus tests than vetting candidates’ professional qualifications for important director positions.
The committee hearing became an airing of grievances about many of the public health policy decisions made during the pandemic by the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Some members of the committee (mainly the chair) disagreed with those policy decisions and held Dr. Cullen responsible.
The committee spent three hours prosecuting Dr. Cullen, only to vote along party lines to deny her advancement.
Their decision to vote her down was clearly made well before the committee hearing. In short, it was a sham hearing.
A talented candidate has been lost
More than 30 medical and public health organizations submitted letters of support to the committee. Dr. Cullen was an ideal candidate to take the reins of an agency that has been sorely lacking in quality director-level leadership for many years.
None of that mattered in the end.
Sadly, a super-talented director candidate has been lost.
Dr. Cullen has had a decades-long career in health care and public health, having achieved the rank of admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service and assistant surgeon general.
She’s accomplished at running very large organizations with budgets well over a billion dollars. Her professional reputation is one of integrity, accountability and commitment to evidence-based policy.
It’s tough to find good agency leaders
It’s not just Dr. Cullen who received a political litmus test hearing rather than a professional vetting.
Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson, Gov. Hobbs’ nominee for director of the Arizona Department of Administration, received the same treatment this week, this time about abortion of all things.
These positions are not easy to fill. They need a very specialized set of skills and expertise.
In some cases, folks moved their families across the county to Arizona, only to get caught in political quicksand upon their arrival. That quicksand hurts our ability to retain qualified staff within these agencies and makes it harder to recruit additional local and national leaders.
The committee is running off talent
Today, bitter partisanship and the way the Directors Nomination Committee is being managed is delaying director installations and sabotaging the opportunity to recruit talented and qualified candidates to key posts.
If the committee leadership were to change their objective and vet the professional qualifications for the director positions, their work would be providing a valuable service.
As it stands, the committee is basically just running off talent that Arizona state agencies desperately need.
That’s not checks and balances. It’s sabotage.
The problem isn’t the new committee. The problem is the way the committee is being led.
If it doesn’t change, and quick, we’re all in a heap of trouble and ordinary Arizonans will be the ones that suffer.
I beg to differ on this last point. The committee’s Republican members are all ideological extremists, its chair Jake Hoffman is a Coup Plotter co-conspirator and fake GQP elector who is likely under state and federal investigation, and who should be disqualified from serving in public office for his role in the January 6 insurrection. The MAGA Fascists on this Star Chamber Committee are doing exactly what Senate president Warren Petersen intended in creating this sham committee, sabotaging Governor Hobbs’ nominees to executive positions.
This is not checks and balances, or vetting, or any other valid purpose. It is GQP ideological extremism designed to sabotage the Hobbs administration.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.