I’m a big fan of checks and balances. You may call me an evangelist.

The founders of the United States and Arizona were wary of decentralizing power. A divided government (and natural tensions between branches) is a big reason our republic has been so resilient and has stood the test of time. Legislative oversight of the executive branch is essential.

why? Because legislative oversight of enforcement agencies builds accountability. Accountability makes government responsive and effective.

When I first heard about the new Arizona Senate Nominating Committee, I knew I had a great idea. The new committee may oversee candidates nominated for key board positions more closely. In my experience, the old method of reviewing director nominations by a standing committee often resulted in a cursory screening of candidates.

But what looked good on paper turned out to be bad in practice. Really bad.

Evidence A is from last week when the newly formed Director Nominating Committee heard the nomination of Dr. Teresa Cullen, Governor Hobbes’ candidate for Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. This “hearing” foreshadowed a brutal, if not impossible, confirmation process that was more eager to use political litmus test than to vette the professional qualifications of candidates for key positions. .

The commission’s “hearings” became a broadcast of complaints about many of the public health policy decisions made during the pandemic by the Pima County Oversight Board. Some members of the committee (mainly the chairman) opposed these policy decisions and held Dr. Cullen responsible. The committee spent three hours indicting Dr. Cullen and voted against her promotion in line with party policy.

Their decision to vote against her was apparently made well before the committee’s “hearing.” In short, it was a fake hearing.

More than 30 medical and public health organizations have submitted letters of support to the Commission. Dr. Cullen was the ideal candidate to take the reins of an institution that over the years had been markedly lacking leadership at his level of quality director. In the end it didn’t matter.

Unfortunately, a talented directorial candidate has been lost. Dr. Cullen has a decades-long career in healthcare and public health, holding the positions of Admiral of the U.S. Surgeon General and Assistant Surgeon General. She is adept at running very large organizations with budgets well over her $1 billion. Her professional reputation is one of hers for integrity, accountability, and commitment to evidence-based policy.

Dr. Cullen isn’t the only person to have received a political litmus test hearing rather than a professional review. Elizabeth Alvarado Thorson, Gov. Hobbes’ nominee for Arizona’s executive director, got the same treatment this week for all abortions.

Filling these positions is not easy. They require highly specialized skills and expertise. In some cases, families moved across the country to Arizona, only to find themselves caught in political quicksand shortly after arriving. make it difficult to recruit local and national leaders.

Today, intense partisanship and the way board nomination committees are run slows board appointments and thwarts opportunities to recruit competent and qualified candidates for key posts.

If committee leaders change their purpose and scrutinize the professional qualifications of directorships, their work will provide a valuable service. As it stands, the commission is basically kicking out people desperately needed by Arizona agencies.

It is not checks and balances. It’s sabotage.

The problem is not the new commission. The problem is how the committee works. If that doesn’t change, we’re all going to be in big trouble, and ordinary Arizonans will suffer.