PHOENIX โ An unsuccessful legislative candidate who was then hired by Gov. Katie Hobbs to direct the Department of Veteransโ Services and later replaced in that job has now been given a newly created, $170,000-a-year position with the Department of Economic Security.
Itโs a position that didnโt exist before Dana Allmond was put into it. Itโs also unlikely to exist after she leaves what is listed as a contractual position: Hobbs is financing the position with federal stimulus dollars.
Dana Allmond
The new position came into focus last week as the Senate Committee on Director Nominations questioned Michael Wisehart, who has been nominated by Hobbs to run DES. He told lawmakers Allmond, a retired lieutenant colonel, will help connect veterans with services.
But Sen. Jake Hoffman, who chairs the committee, pointed out thatโs exactly the role of the Department of Veteransโ Services, the agency Hobbs tapped Allmond to head after the Marana Democrat lost her 2022 bid to be elected to the state House.
Wisehart did not dispute that. But he said DES also has programs to work with veterans, programs that already existed before Allmond was placed into the agency. That did not satisfy Hoffman, who said DES was apparently doing that job just fine without Allmond.
โIt 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 Veteransโ Services,โโ said Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican.
A month after Hobbs took office in 2023, Allmond was hired to lead the agency that provides services to veterans, including helping to connect them with benefits they may be due. It also runs four nursing homes.
Democrat Hobbs had a fight with Hoffman and the Republican-led Senate last year over getting her nominees approved, including Allmond. After a judge ruled the governor was illegally avoiding the required Senate confirmation, Hobbs agreed to resubmit most of their names for proper consideration.
But Allmond was not on that list. Instead, Hobbs withdrew her nomination and tapped John F. Scott, who had been her deputy, to run the agency. Allmond was demoted to deputy director โ but allowed to keep the same $170,000 salary.
Now she is part of the DES budget, a position she lists on her LinkedIn page as chief of the Office of Veteran & Military Family Affairs; the contract lists her as a โsenior executive consultant.โโ
In a prepared response late Monday, gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater did not directly address why Hobbs felt it necessary to create a new position within DES for Allmond to do what is the role of the Department of Veteransโ Services, nor why she is being paid the same $170,000 she received while heading the state agency. Instead, he said that she โis directly helping veterans throughout the state cut red tape to receive the services that they need.โโ
Slater blasted Hoffman for bringing up the subject, calling it part of a โrelentless crusade to โfireโ the governor, regardless of who is harmed by his political antics.โโ
Wisehart, quizzed during his confirmation hearing about exactly what Allmond is being paid to do, made it clear that hiring her wasnโt his doing. He said she was already under contract when Hobbs named him director last month.
But he told lawmakers she does have a role.
โShe is out in the community, working to connect veterans to the services that are available to them, the services that they need, the services that they deserve,โโ he told Hoffman. โSheโs using her extensive experience to lead conversations with individuals that are providing direct services to all of our veteran communities across the state of Arizona.โโ
Wisehart said the agency has โspecific objectivesโโ for her.
He said those include ensuring that veterans are connected to the Department of Veterans Affairs and that they are โable to navigateโโ the state Department of Veteransโ Services.
Wisehart said he wants to reduce homelessness among veterans as well as suicides.
โAnd so Lt. Col. Allmond is going to need to leverage all of her experience in order to make a meaningful impact in all of these areas as we move forward,โโ he said.
A copy of her contract obtained by Capitol Media Services says she โdevelops and implements strategic project plans to achieve business goals, proactively leads the project and/or business by setting the direction of the project, setting timelines, identifying key milestones and additional resources needed on the selected project(s).โโ
It also says the position is a โhybrid,โโ meaning she can work either at home or at the office.
Hoffman was skeptical.
โSo, in an era of government efficiency, donโt you view this newly created contractual thing as being duplicative?โโ he asked Wisehart. โWe already have a Department of Veteransโ Services whoโs already engaging in those very same functions. So how are we being efficient by having a contract for this individual?โโ
Wisehart said DES has some of its own veteran-related programs, such as helping people find employment and doing outreach to disabled veterans. Both, he said, existed before Allmond came on board. And both are staffed exclusively by veterans.
Itโs not just Allmond that Wisehart inherited.
The state also gave a separate contract โ with identical wording and duties โ to Marcus Trombetta. The only difference is he will be making $114,000 a year. There was no immediate information about him and why, he, too, was needed at DES.
Allmond made her single bid for political office in 2022, becoming one of the Democratic nominees for the two House seats in LD 17. That district stretches from the northern and eastern edges of Tucson through Marana and into Pinal County.
But she and Brian Radford lost to Republicans Rachel Jones (now Rachel Keshel) and Cory McGarr.
The governorโs decision to create a slot for Allmond isnโt the first time she has interceded in DESโ operation.
Wisehart had been the director after being tapped for the job in 2020 by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Hobbsโ predecessor. But Hobbs, on taking office in January 2023, chose to replace him with Angie Rogers.
Last year, however, Hobbs reversed course, nominating Wisehart to get his old job back.
Slater called it โa strategic change.โโ
All that resulted in Wisehart now needing to be reconfirmed, and leading to the hearing where he was asked about the need for Allmondโs position.
