Governor Katie Hobbs Creates Two New Jobs Paying Almost $600,000 for ‘Cronies’ in ‘Duplicative’ Positions, While Others are Laid Off

Governor Katie Hobbs is coming under criticism for paying two political cronies high salaries in positions that some allege duplicate existing jobs. At the same time, the agency she placed them at, the Department of Economic Security, laid off 5 percent of its full-time employees due to cuts in federal government funding.

State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), chair and founder of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, denounced Hobbs on X. “Katie Hobbs’ jaw-dropping nearly $600,000 handout of taxpayer money to a former Democrat politician and her assistant for newly invented jobs reeks of corruption,” he said. “It’s sickening that Hobbs continues to treat Arizona’s government like her personal friends-and-family slush fund, doling out lavish six-figure salaries to political cronies.”

NEW ARIZONA SCANDAL@KatieHobbs nominated fellow Dem politician, Dana Allmond, for a cushy gov’t job.

Then Katie DEMOTED her.

Then Katie invented a job that’s never existed before for her.

Then Katie paid her & her asst. nearly $600,000 of YOUR money!

FULL STATEMENT:… pic.twitter.com/ab3mglqQQx

— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) July 9, 2025

Laurie Roberts, a left-leaning opinion writer for The Arizona Republic, also blasted the move. “Why are you keeping six-figure jobs that were invented for people — jobs that presumably already are being done elsewhere — while laying off DES employees from jobs that otherwise won’t get done?”

Hobbs previously hired Dana Allmond, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and her assistant Marcus Trombetta for positions in state government after Allmond ran for the State House in 2022 and lost. But after facing opposition getting Senate Republicans to confirm Allmond to head the Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) in 2023, Hobbs switched them to lower level jobs at the same salaries she hired them at, $170,000 annually for Allmond and $114,000 annually for Trombetta. Over two years, that totals almost $600,000.

Hoffman, who chairs the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, has blocked many of Hobbs’ appointees due to partisan bias and perceived corruption. After sensing that she would face opposition to Allmond, Hobbs demoted her last fall to deputy director instead, without cutting her salary. Hobbs has attempted to get around opposition to her proposed agency heads by appointing them as deputy directors instead.

Hoffman said at the time, “The Arizona state government isn’t the friends and family employment plan for Katie Hobbs, and that’s exactly how she’s treating it. She deemed on her own Dana Allmond to be unqualified for the job of veteran services, yet now created a duplicative job paying her the same salary.”

State Senate Republicans sued over Hobbs moving her rejected appointees to deputy director positions, and won, with a judge issuing an order stating that it was illegal.

Hobbs next reacted by moving Allmond to a senior executive consultant position at DES in February, a new position she created for her. She did not change her salary. Hoffman objected to the move, stating that it was merely “duplicative” of the position, since DVS already caters to veterans. “It does seem like this contractual role was created explicitly for her when she was deemed unqualified to remain in her position as the nominee for Veterans’ Services,” he said.

Ironically, a spokesperson for Hobbs said she funded the positions with funds from dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA). On May 22, the Trump administration terminated three Department of Labor ARPA grants that led to the DES cuts. It is unclear why longtime state employees were let go due to federal funding ending, but not her two new cronies.

Insiders told The Arizona Sun Times that the reason Hobbs has been so insistent on paying Allmond, who is black, an inflated salary is she is trying to deflect from an expensive lawsuit she lost over racism. A jury found that her former staffer at the Arizona Legislature, Talonya Adams, was wrongly fired due to racism, and awarded Adams $2.5 million because of the discrimination. Hobbs admitted, “I know that in proceeding in her termination, I participated in furthering systemic racism.”

Hobbs came under fire earlier this year for an alleged pay-to-play scheme. The county attorney and attorney general are investigating her for significantly increasing the rate paid to just one group home provider for foster children, Sunshine Residential Homes, after the provider made a $100,000 donation to her inauguration festivities. She did this while the Department of Child Safety Congregate Care Program (DCSCCP) was going bankrupt.

Sunshine Residential applied for a rate increase in December 2022 but was turned down. The provider donated $100,000 to Hobbs’ inauguration three days later, and soon got the rate increased to $234 per day. This is significantly higher than the average $169 for other group home providers, who did not receive rate increases.

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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].

The post Governor Katie Hobbs Creates Two New Jobs Paying Almost $600,000 for ‘Cronies’ in ‘Duplicative’ Positions, While Others are Laid Off first appeared on The Arizona Sun Times.