Senate Rejects Hobbs’ Department Of Housing Director Nominee

On Tuesday, Governor Katie Hobbs’ nominee to serve as director of the Arizona
Department of Housing (ADOH), Joan Serviss, was rejected by Senate Republicans after she failed to resign amid serious findings of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Calls for her resignation stem from a report from the Arizona Auditor General that revealed the agency, currently led by Serviss, wired $2 million in State Housing Trust Fund monies to fraudsters impersonating officers from a title company and nonprofit housing organization in June of 2023 and did not realize the fraud occurred until six months later.

The Auditor General concluded ADOH failed to develop and implement wire transfer policies to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse.

In September of 2023, the Senate Committee on Director Nominations (DINO) found Serviss was unfit to serve as Director of ADOH after a troubling history of pervasive plagiarism was alleged while she served as Executive Director of the Arizona Housing Coalition.

As a result, the committee recommended the Senate reject her confirmation. Following the recommendation, Hobbs attempted to evade the confirmation process and withdrew all nominees. The Senate sued, and Hobbs was found to have broken the law. This year, the governor renominated Serviss over the objections of Senate Republicans.

“As we warned the governor and her team, the Senate could not confirm this Director in good conscience due to the disturbing fraud, waste, and abuse that occurred under her watch,” said Senate President Warren Petersen. “The governor had the opportunity to do the right thing here, but she was stubbornly committed to a nominee who repeatedly proved her incompetence and demonstrated a severe lack of concern for the stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Because the Governor did not desire to work with the state legislature in a bipartisan manner, Senate Republicans had no choice but to act to protect the interests of our citizens. With this vote today by the Senate, we call on the governor to submit a new nominee to lead this agency who is both competent and qualified to serve all of Arizona.”

Governor Hobbs released the following statement in response to the vote:

“Joan Serviss is a highly qualified leader and passionate public servant who has a proven track record of making housing more affordable and combatting homelessness.

“When I became Governor, I nominated Director Serviss to steer Arizona’s housing efforts amid unprecedented cost increases and to keep Arizona affordable for years to come. Today, just as two years ago, she remains the best person for the job.

“Director Serviss is more than just capable; she is extremely effective. She quickly, skillfully, and successfully implemented historic investments — $165 million in the Housing Trust Fund and $60 million in the Homeless Shelter and Services Fund. Under her leadership, the state funded and broke ground on more affordable housing units than any other two-year time period in our history, dramatically expanded capacity for transitional housing and shelters, and created economic opportunity by making first-time homeownership a reality for more Arizonans. Director Serviss has been central to the strides we have made to make housing more affordable in Arizona.

“The progress we have achieved is possible because Director Serviss has the management skills and policy knowledge the Department of Housing needs. She is an empathetic leader who has worked hand in hand with communities to understand and address their housing needs.

“She has earned the respect of leaders and Arizonans across the state — from the public and private sectors, from both the Democratic and Republican parties, from both the housing industry and nonprofit space.

“As Arizona continues to grow, it is critical that we have a leader like Director Serviss at the helm to expand housing options and lower housing costs for Arizonans across the state.”