Hobbs picks Lujan to lead Child Safety
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is making a second run to put an ally in charge of the state’s child welfare agency, appointing a child advocate and former Democratic lawmaker for the job after abandoning her prior pick.
Hobbs on Monday named David Lujan to lead the state Department of Child Safety. Lujan served in the Legislature a decade ago, and now leads the Children’s Action Alliance, a group that advocates for services and policies that benefit Arizona children, like expanding access to child care and health insurance programs.
While the group is nonpartisan, its affiliated Center for Economic Progress has often aligned with Democratic priorities at the state Capitol, like raising taxes to fund public education or opposing the state’s universal private school voucher program.
“David has led a career of defending and building up communities here in Arizona so that families can have happy and successful lives,” Hobbs said in a statement. “His ability to lead and history on raising awareness in areas that need critical attention, like our teacher shortage, makes me confident that he will head the Department of Child Safety in a positive direction.”
While Lujan’s policy advocacy leaves him in lockstep with Hobbs’ ideologies, his record provides plenty of ammunition for Republican lawmakers who have to confirm his appointment and might seek to pick it apart.
Lujan fiercely advocated for Proposition 208, the tax on higher income earners to fund public education that was later invalidated by Arizona courts, and helped organize the effort in opposition to former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s flat tax, which he called a “tax giveaway to the rich” while lower income earners saw much smaller cuts to their tax bills.
DCS operates the state’s foster and adoption programs and is charged with protecting vulnerable children, sometimes by removing children from their families if abuse or neglect is suspected.
“It’s one of the most important state agencies,” Lujan said. “Protecting child safety is obviously a top priority of the state and of this governor, but I think it’s also an opportunity to focus on child well-being and strengthening families, and really providing the supports that families need so that they don’t get involved in the child welfare system to begin with.”
Politics in the appointment process
Lujan’s advocacy work could come up in the hypercharged political atmosphere that has surrounded Hobbs’ efforts to install her cabinet, which includes a first stop before a newly created Senate Committee on Director Nominations led by Sen. Jake Hoffman, RQueen Creek.
“DCS is one of the most important agencies that we have, it takes care of vulnerable children in our state. And so we’re gonna be looking at qualifications that are relevant to doing that job,” Hoffman
said.
Lujan said he would go on offense and planned to reach out to Hoffman and other committee members.
He planned to introduce himself, and “let them get to know me and see that I’m not looking to do anything radical at this agency. I’m about protecting children and keeping the children of Arizona safe so that all kids can thrive. That’s my focus, and that shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”
Hoffman claimed credit for Hobbs’ decision last month to withdraw her prior nominee for the DCS job, Matthew Stewart.
But Hobbs said withdrawing the nomination was “in the best interests of everyone involved,” and “had nothing to do with the Senate committee.”
That Senate committee, which recommends to the 30-member Senate whether to approve or reject Hobbs’ nominees, has twice put up roadblocks for Hobbs’ agency picks.