FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
'Sanity over Chaos': Senate Republicans Recommend to Reject Hobbs' Appointment of Unqualified Extremist with Racist Past to Lead ROC
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— In yet another example of why the Senate Committee on Director Nominations (DINO) is critical to ensuring proper vetting of the Governor's appointments to lead state agencies, a troubling past came to light today during questioning of the nominee for the Registrar of Contractors (ROC), Martín Quezada.
"Mr. Quezada has a history at the Arizona Legislature of spreading antisemitism, which prompted the Israel Heritage Foundation to send Katie Hobbs a letter calling for his termination as ROC Director," said DINO Committee Chairman Jake Hoffman. "What's equally disturbing are his continual, on-the-record comments made while serving as a legislator regarding hiring and firing practices. According to Mr. Quezada, qualifications for a job are determined by skin color, gender, religion and political affiliation. This is not a philosophy any state agency should ever adopt. The fact that Katie Hobbs is turning a blind eye to this is certainly more indicative of 'chaos' and not the 'sanity' she promised after taking office."
"The ROC can ultimately make or break the livelihoods of contractors within our state, so it's important to choose a leader who supports entrepreneurs in their quest to serve our citizens responsibly and honorably," said President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope. "Unfortunately, during his tenure in the Legislature, Mr. Quezada developed a track record of voting against small businesses 82% of the time, according to data released from NFIB. We can't in good faith sign off on a director who has a history of voting against the community in which he's tasked with serving."
"Some of the more disappointing moments from today's committee highlighted Mr. Quezada's baseless and hateful accusations against Republicans as a whole," said Majority Whip Sine Kerr. "The ROC Director must be able to work with contractors of all races, genders, religions and political affiliations for the betterment of our state. Unfortunately, Mr. Quezada's extremist views should automatically disqualify him from serving in this role. I would also argue that any politician who states they don't believe they need to keep promises made to their constituents is not someone to be trusted in any capacity."
After testimony, Senate Republicans in the committee voted to reject Mr. Quezada's appointment to the Registrar of Contractors. This appointment will go before the entire Senate body for a final vote at a later date.
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For more information, contact:
Kim Quintero
Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus
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