Hobbs’ office calls GOP senator a ‘liar and clown’ as another agency head is rejected

The Republican gatekeeper standing in the way of the Democratic governor’s nominees to head state departments said this week that those directors need to have a “neutral, fair” approach to regulation. 

But Sen. Jake Hoffman is using the committee to exact political vengeance on Gov. Katie Hobbs by unfairly targeting her nominees, said Christian Slater, the governor’s chief spokesman. He called Hoffman a “liar and a clown” who is “engaged in a partisan witch hunt.” 

And while Hoffman may demand neutrality and fairness from Hobbs’ picks to head state agencies, the same can’t be said of the people who Hobbs’ office claimed he summoned to testify on April 10 when the Senate Director Nominations Committee met to consider the governor’s nominee to lead the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. 

A long line of far-right local Republican Party leaders blasted Barbara Richardson for a supposed anti-business stance and for participating in National Association of Insurance Commissioners special committees on diversity, equity and inclusion and climate resiliency. 

Hoffman, in an email to the Arizona Mirror after this story was published, said there is “no factual basis” for the claim that he invited anyone to testify and said the allegation that he did so is “false.”

“I did not solicit or coordinate any public testimony for or against Ms. Richardson,” Hoffman said.

In a March 27 press statement, Hoffman said that “qualified candidates should be free from any partisan political agenda” and accused Richardson of having a history of “radical leftist ideologies.” 

Nearly all of the more than a dozen people who asked the committee not to recommend Richardson be confirmed as director were Republican Party activists or their associates. Some of the speakers disclosed their political affiliations, but several did not. 

“We need a regulator who maintains a neutral, fair approach to regulation,” Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said. “I don’t believe that Miss Richardson is that regulator.” 

Richardson previously led insurance regulation departments in multiple states under both Democratic and Republican governors. The committee split along party lines to not recommend her confirmation.

State law requires the state Senate confirm a governor’s picks to lead agencies. Without a recommendation from the committee, the full Senate is unlikely to confirm Richardson’s appointment to head the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. 

So far this year, the committee has recommended confirmation of eight of Hobbs’ department director nominees, and six of them have been confirmed by the Senate. 

But in February, Joan Serviss, Hobbs’ nominee to head the Department of Housing, was dismissed from her position due to pressure from Republicans in the Senate. 

When Serviss went before the committee after Hobbs nominated her as director in 2023, Hoffman accused her of plagiarism for copying language in press statements during a previous job. Later, he blamed her for a $2 million wire transfer the department made to scammers who impersonated a nonprofit. 

The Director Nominations Committee, which was created in 2023 specifically to vet Hobbs’ director nominees, held several contentious and combative nomination hearings that year and refused to confirm most of the governor’s nominees. 

Prior to the creation of that committee, Senate confirmations occurred with little fanfare following brief interviews with relevant legislative committees. 

Hobbs attempted to sidestep the Senate approval process by appointing her director nominees as deputy directors, positions that don’t require Senate approval. But following a lawsuit from Senate Republicans, a judge ruled that Hobbs had broken the law in circumventing the approval process and ordered her to make new director nominations to be submitted to the Senate. 

Richardson originally went before the committee on March 27, but was invited back on April 10 to explain some of her actions that Hoffman said caused him concern. Those included the way that she communicated rules to businesses that the department regulates, which Hoffman claimed went against state statute, as well as longer wait times for licensing. 

Richardson explained that longer wait times were due to staff turnover and a significant increase in licensing renewal applications from around 81,000 in 2019 to nearly 122,000 in 2024. 

Former Arizona Republican Party Treasurer Elijah Norton, who owns several businesses regulated by the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, told the committee that his testimony against Richardson came at great risk to his own business. Norton claimed that many other business owners were scared to speak to the committee because they feared retaliation from Richardson. 

He accused her of being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” or a leftist disguising herself as a moderate. Norton said he didn’t believe her claims that her involvement in the DEI committee was only for learning purposes and that she did not implement any DEI practices in the department. 

Joe Steenbergen, who also harshly criticized Richardson, did not tell the committee members that he works for Veritas Global Protection Services, one of the companies that Norton owns. 

“I can say unequivocally that, since Miss Richardson assumed her role as acting director of the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, or DIFI, the department has taken a complete nosedive,” he said. 

Steenbergen added that the workers there have become apathetic and “less business friendly,” and he claimed that, if the Senate approved Richardson’s nomination, he would likely recommend that his employer leave Arizona for a state that’s more business friendly. 

Other speakers who recommended against Richardson’s confirmation included Shelby Busch, the first vice chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee; Debbie Cheatham, an advisory board member for Arizona Right to Life; and Ron Smith, who ran the unsuccessful 2024 campaign for Congress for former Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, who was one of the state’s most far-right lawmakers. 

Slater said in a written statement that the Republican Party activists who testified had one job: beat up Richardson.

“Jake brought Republican precinct committeemen who don’t even know what DIFI stands for, let alone what it does, to engage in a hit job on a career nonpartisan public servant,” Slater said. “The only people who are harmed because of these political games are the people of Arizona.” 

Kelsey Lundy, a lobbyist for Compass Strategies, spoke in support of Richardson, saying she’s been representing businesses regulated by DIFI for around 20 years and feels Richardson has treated her clients fairly and with no bias. 

Chad Heinrich, CEO of Arizonans for Affordable Healthcare, also recommended that the committee approve Richardson’s nomination, saying that he’d witnessed her deference to state law and lawmakers. 

Democratic Sen. Analise Ortiz, of Phoenix, apologized to Richardson for “the political hit job we saw today,” adding that she was disheartened to hear untrue claims that Richardson is a DEI activist. 

***CORRECTION & UPDATE: This story was corrected to clarify that that Gov. Hobbs’ office is claiming that the Republican activists who testified against Barbara Richardson were invited to do so by Sen. Jake Hoffman. Additionally, the story was updated to include comments and quotes from Hoffman that were provided in response to this story.