GOP claims victory after Hobbs nominee resigns, citing 'obstructionist toxicity'

One of Gov. Katie Hobbs' appointees to a panel that helps select Arizona judges resigned the post on Thursday in advance of the Senate confirmation process, reviving an issue that characterized Hobbs' first year in office.

Jacob Raiford, a well-known community organizer and American Civil Liberties Union board member, resigned hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to consider his nomination to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. The commission helps Hobbs pick Arizona Supreme Court and appeals court judges.

The resignation came to light in an announcement from Senate Republicans, who said they found posts showing "extreme disdain for conservative public officials and a disrespect for the Senate confirmation process" when researching Raiford's social media activity.

"The Constitution requires these nominees to review judge candidates impartially, and with his public displays on social media, I don't know how that can be possible," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale. "It's unfortunate Hobbs once again irresponsibly appointed someone to a position of power who clearly should not be there."

Senate Republicans shared Raiford's social media posts from the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Several criticized conservative lawmakers, including for politicizing the nomination process last year and preventing Hobbs from putting her allies in charge of state agencies.

In one post, Raiford described "extremist conservatives holding our government hostage to advance their personal agenda."

In another, he described Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell as a "villain" and "vessel for violent patriarchy" after she refused to comply with Hobbs' order consolidating abortion-related prosecutions with Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. The shift means no cases will be brought, as Mayes has stated clearly she would not do so.

Raiford, who was named to the commission last fall, told The Arizona Republic he resigned ahead of the committee because he feared that politicization would continue. He said his work at the ACLU and on the commission required impartiality that he said Kern did not show when considering his appointment.

"Unfortunately, the current makeup of the Senate majority is driven by this type of obstructionist toxicity that is not rooted in fairness, that is not rooted in honesty, that is not rooted in objectivity," Raiford said, noting Kern's own political stances. "That's no different from the chair who allegedly was on site during the insurrection. Who, me being on the floor during the State of the State address, witnessed the only adult in the room standing up and turning his back towards the governor."

Kern was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 during the insurrection and was on Arizona Republicans' slate of false electors after the 2020 election, part of a plot that led to criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. Mayes is investigating those electors who claimed the state went for Trump, not Democrat Joe Biden.

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A Trump ally and one of the most conservative Arizona lawmakers, Kern made his distaste of Hobbs known during her annual address to lawmakers in January, turning his back and giving her policy priorities a thumbs down.

Raiford was considered but not chosen for a vacancy in the Legislature last month. He serves as the Arizona representative on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union and vice president of the ACLU's Arizona chapter. He led protests of police brutality and calls for reform in Phoenix and is co-chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party Black Engagement Committee.

Hobbs nominated more than two dozen agency leaders in 2023, in her first year as governor. But just six made it through a contentious Senate confirmation process led by a new Committee on Director Nominations. The governor repeatedly charged that committee was placing politics before putting leaders in charge of agencies that serve Arizonans, while GOP committee members responded that they were doing a thorough vetting of nominees that Hobbs had failed to do.

Ultimately Hobbs pulled her agency director nominees last year and gave them other titles, but was sued by Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, over the maneuver. That case is pending.

Before Thursday, however, drama over Hobbs' nominees had largely died down this year.

Christian Slater, Hobbs’ spokesperson, said Raiford withdrew “because of the overtly partisan political circus created by extremists in the State Senate.” Slater declined to comment further.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jacob Raiford resigns from Hobbs administration before GOP confirmation