Senate Committee Gives Preliminary Approval to Housing Department Director Nominee

Housing Department Nominee Clears DINO Committee After Intense Questioning on Financial Management

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs' nominee to lead the Arizona Department of Housing advanced past the state Senate's Director Nominations Committee after a contentious confirmation hearing focused on past financial mismanagement and the effectiveness of affordable housing programs.

Three of the committee's five members voted to recommend the confirmation of Ruby Dhillon-Williams, who has been serving as interim director at the Department of Housing since March 2025. The nomination will now go before the full Senate for a final vote.

"ADOH punches well above its weight. That is a reflection of her direct leadership," said Ben Taylor, vice president at Lincoln Avenue Capital, a national affordable housing developer who testified in Dhillon-Williams' favor.

The hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, centered on two major issues: a 2024 auditor general report that found financial mismanagement at the department and Dhillon-Williams' views on homelessness policy and affordable housing programs.

Financial Mismanagement Under the Microscope

A 2024 auditor general report identified two instances of financial mismanagement within the Arizona Department of Housing:

• The approval of $8.1 million in unsupported expenses for grantees
• An inadvertent payment of $2 million to fraudsters posing as a nonprofit housing organization

The $2 million fraudulent wire transfer occurred in 2023 and became a key flashpoint during the confirmation hearing. Gov. Hobbs had previously nominated Joan Serviss to lead the department, but lawmakers rejected her nomination largely over the same wire transfer incident.

"There is nothing more indicative of future performance than past performance," said Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who chaired the committee and ultimately voted against the nomination.

Dhillon-Williams assured the committee that the department has rewritten its financial protocols and wire transfer procedures following the audit findings. She told lawmakers she has corrected the problems identified by the auditor general, but Hoffman insisted she should have identified them before they occurred since she oversaw the finance division in her role as deputy director.

Committee Chair Remains Skeptical

Despite the committee's 3-2 vote to advance the nomination, committee chair Sen. Jake Hoffman said he anticipates Dhillon-Williams will face opposition on the Senate floor.

"At this point I anticipate being a no on the floor and I anticipate sharing my great concerns with members of the majority," Hoffman said after the hearing.

Hoffman also criticized Dhillon-Williams for being unable to provide an exact figure for the average cost per unit for the 10,000 affordable housing units the department created using the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

"LIHTC solutions have not made housing more affordable," Hoffman told Dhillon-Williams during the hearing. "They've picked winners and losers, and some people have gotten the benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars, in aggregate, of government subsidies. That hasn't actually done anything to help move the needle in terms of affordability."

Affordable Housing Debate

The hearing also touched on the ongoing debate between housing-first versus treatment-first approaches to addressing homelessness. Dhillon-Williams told the committee she believes each individual should be evaluated to find the best intervention that helps them succeed.

"I don't believe there's a silver bullet or magic pill that will make sure an individual can move through the housing continuum successfully without evaluating the needs of that individual," she said.

Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, voted in favor of Dhillon-Williams' nomination and called out her Republican colleagues for spreading misinformation about the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

"Nobody is going around giving away free apartments to anyone right now, and anyone who thinks that has not had a conversation with those who work in this space and know just how challenging it is for people who are looking for housing," Ortiz said.

Democratic Support

Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, ultimately sided with Democrats to advance the nomination. He joined Sen. Flavio Bravo, D-Phoenix, in voting alongside Ortiz to support Dhillon-Williams.

Notably, Hoffman commended Dhillon-Williams for her professionalism and her relationships within the regulated housing industry, a departure from his typically adversarial interactions with Gov. Hobbs' nominees.

"To your credit, I think you are a lovely person," Hoffman told Dhillon-Williams before voting against her nomination. "I think you certainly have built incredible relationships and I'm sure you know this industry incredibly well."

What's Next

Dhillon-Williams' nomination will need to clear the full Senate before she is officially confirmed. The Senate is currently adjourned until April 27, so a final vote likely won't occur for another week.

The Arizona Department of Housing has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since 2023. Dhillon-Williams has been working as interim director since March 2025, having come to the department in 2020 after working in affordable housing development in the private sector.