Hobbs contradicts herself in State of the State address
2023 brought a lot of new changes to the Grand Canyon State in numerous ways. The 2022 midterm elections were able to create a completely new political environment with the redistricting of Arizona’s Congressional and legislative districts. At the forefront of this was a change of the guard in Arizona’s government with the election of Arizona’s 24th Governor, Katie Hobbs.
For many, this marked a large step to what many are calling, “the beginning of the end” for a state that was once seen as a Republican stronghold. However, we aren’t quite seeing the effects yet as Republicans still hold a one-seat majority in each legislative chamber that will largely be expected to be a power struggle over the next year for control. What we are seeing is a stalemate. Nonetheless, Governor Hobbs has not backed down in her continued fight to bring change to Arizona, especially in the ongoing opioid crisis where five Arizona lives are claimed each day predominantly due to fentanyl, the most frequently identified drug in such cases.
In her second State of the State address, the Governor aimed to address the ongoing opioid crisis with the announcement of the newly created Operation SECURE. Governor Hobbs was quoted in her speech saying, “This new funding will expand the Operation with critical investments in border security, as well as resources to intercept the flow of fentanyl. Every Arizonan should know we are taking significant and meaningful steps to keep them safe — even when the federal government refuses to.”
The announcement of this operation will hopefully bring peace of mind that our Governor is taking steps to protect her citizens, but it brings many to question where was this support a year ago when the Governor had a chance?
One of the many bills that were vetoed by Governor Hobbs was HB2469, a bill introduced by Rep. Steve Montenegro (R-LD29). With the passing of this bill, the State would have declared fentanyl coming across our state border to be a Public Health Crisis – but was stopped in its tracks after it was vetoed by Governor Hobbs and had nearly every Democrat in the state legislature voting against it. This sadly wasn’t the only chance that Governor Hobbs had as she would veto 2 other bills that Republicans proposed in regard to fentanyl, where Arizonans could have taken substantial steps toward a safer Arizona. This remains to be an issue that she continues to blame the federal government for entirely as she claims no accountability for (which is similar to other state Democrat leaders).
If there is anything that Arizona has been able to learn about Governor Hobbs and the Democrats that currently hold elected positions, is that they will continue to do everything in their power to do nothing when it comes to addressing real issues and blame others until it is too late as Governor Hobbs would veto more than 40% of the legislative bills that touched her desk – 143 to be exact. Many of those vetoed bills would have given Arizonans the protection and justice that they deserve. This just raises the question of how serious she and other Democrat lawmakers really are when it comes to protecting Arizonans – or will they forever be giving empty promises to us and keep putting off real issues? Actions will always speak louder than words.
