Hobbs, Republicans continue to butt heads over agency director nominees

Gov. Katie Hobbs has again expressed frustration with the Senate Republicans who control the fate of her agency directors after they tabled a vote on the person she chose to lead the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.

The Senate Director Nominations Committee met with Carlos Contreras on Wednesday, but Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), the committee chairman, ultimately chose not to hold a vote on the nomination.

Hoffman raised concerns during the hearing over how the Office of Economic Opportunity was administering Hobbs’ Build It AZ grant program, which was designed to increase construction apprenticeship opportunities in Arizona.

Specifically, he said he was concerned about giving preferential treatment to apprenticeship programs that catered to “priority populations.”

“Why is your agency awarding higher scores to programs based on race, sex or identity of their participants?” Hoffman asked Contreras.

Contreras told Hoffman that the agency did not consider race or gender as a part of the grant program. He said it did factor in some “priority populations,” including programs serving tribal areas and underserved communities, that was defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, which funded the grants.

“Priority populations are a DOL-defined definition or priority. And so, because these are DOL dollars, we follow the same methodology that DOL has laid out.”

Hobbs argued the tabled vote was just another example of obstructionism by the committee.

“It's incredibly frustrating that more than two years in, we're still in this place, and we're going to continue to move forward, and I'm hopeful that by the end of session, we will have confirmed directors at our state agencies,” she said.

According to a database created by the Arizona Republic, Hoffman’s committee has recommended confirmation for 16 of Hobbs’ nominees since she took office in 2023. But 10 other agency directors have been rejected by the committee or resigned before facing a vote.

Republicans on the Director Nominations Committee argued there were serious questions about whether the way the Office of Economic Opportunity awarded grants violated state law.

“In fact, both in the [state] Constitution and in state law, it actually says you shouldn’t do things based on those characteristics,” Hoffman said.

Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) said the committee needed more time to vet Contreras’ claim that the Office of Economic Opportunity was using criteria dictated by federal official and whether that conflicted with state law.

“I guess I’d be interested to know what happens if there’s a discrepancy between the two laws, which trumps? Kavanagh said. “Which way the applicant would go, even if it’s legal?”

Hoffman said he tabled the vote so legislative attorneys could contact the Department of Labor and investigate the issue further.