An end-around to placate the state’s highest earners and nullify a citizen initiative seemed like a clever move at the time. The chickens have since come home to roost however, and there may be some major repercussions. Arizona is now staring down the barrel of a massive $1.7 billion deficit at the start of the legislative session. Since the budget … Read More
Gov. Hobbs and Democrats Keep Moving to the Right on Immigration
By Ronald Sampson Any “old hats” who have followed politics for a while have undoubtedly seen the phenomenon of how political performance level at the national level impacts that at the state and local level. For instance, if a President is incredibly popular, lower-level politicians of the same party will do their best to ride the coattails, to match styles … Read More
Better Days Coming for Scottsdale Teachers According to Task Force. Are They Substantive or Empty Promises?
Education has long been a hot-button issue in Arizona. While Democrats have long spoken about it as the minority party, it hit a critical mass in 2018 with the massive Red for Ed protests. Then-Governor Ducey’s political hand was forced, leading to significant increases in pay for teachers in the state. Once right near the bottom nationally in average teacher … Read More
A Potential Game-Changer for the 2024 Elections in Arizona: Gov. Hobbs Supporting Putting Abortion on the Ballot
The 2024 elections will be incredibly significant for numerous reasons, with Arizona again set to be perhaps the most important battleground of the battleground states for the presidential election, and with what might be the most interesting US Senate race in modern American history in our state as well. But for Governor Hobbs, it will be just as significant for … Read More
AG Mayes and Governor Hobbs Have a New Target: AZ Schools Superintendent Tom Horne
Over the last few months, Governor Katie Hobbs and AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes have started to realize and actualize the power that they can wield together (you can read up on our coverage on Hobbs here and Mayes here). Most of this exploration has revolved around battles related to legislation, both real and potential, but rarely have they had … Read More
An Unforced Error by Governor Hobbs, Potentially a Lesson Learned
If you read us regularly, you know that it has been a wild ride condensed into less than a year for Governor Katie Hobbs, full of slip ups, power moves, falls and redemptions (get the full scoop here). One thing that has been certain is that the Arizona GOP is looking for any opportunity to nail her administration against the … Read More
Can Republicans Keep Criticism of Governor Hobbs to Reasonable Items?
By Ronald Sampson It’s been a rough time for Governor Katie Hobbs. I’ve been plenty willing to levy complaints about her for a few different reasons starting with her campaign (especially her unwillingness to debate) and continuing into her initial inability to delegate responsibility effectively (read all the good and the bad here). She has earned plenty of legitimate criticism…which … Read More
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Of Course Not…Treasurer Yee Gives Governor Hobbs the Cold Shoulder
By Alexander Lomax Heavy is the head that wears the crown for Governor Katie Hobbs. After a year of upheaval and obstructionism by Republicans writ large, a year where Jake Hoffman was doing everything in his power to deny her her department heads, she recently took the unprecedented (at least within this millennium) route of dropping all of her director … Read More
In a Major Sign of the Times, Governor Hobbs Retracts All Outstanding Appointees.What Does It Mean For Arizona?
Perhaps it is obvious, but it is something that had been easy to forget for years in Arizona…things are a lot easier for a governor when they have a friendly legislature that will push forward (or at least not oppose) their agenda. Governor Katie Hobbs is finding out what can happen with an unfriendly legislature and is running into perhaps … Read More
Division as the New Norm: AZ GOP Steps Up Attacks on Hobbs and Future Administrations Using…More Government
by Alexander Lomax The jostling, jockeying and politicking between Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and the Republican-led Arizona House and Senate has made for some truly interesting watching in the short time that Hobbs has been Governor. While she has had a tumultuous time finding her feet (get up to date here), the AZ GOP has had nearly as tough a … Read More