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Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs speaks after taking a ceremonial oath of office during a public inauguration at the state Capitol in Phoenix, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
At a public inauguration ceremony on Jan. 5, Gov. Katie Hobbs repeated the message she’s emphasized since winning election almost two months ago: she’s ready to work across the aisle with Republican lawmakers, within reason.
“Let me say unequivocally, to every elected official here today, that if you’re ready to make real progress on the issues that matter most to the people of this state, then my door will always be open,” Hobbs said.
“Let me also say just as clearly,” she continued, “that chasing conspiracy theories, pushing agendas for special interests, attacking the rights of your fellow Arizonans, or seeking to further undermine our democracy will lead nowhere.”
Hobbs is the state’s first Democratic governor since former Gov. Janet Napolitano left office in 2009, and she’ll have to work with a Legislature that’s ruled by slim Republican majorities in both houses. After running as a moderate, Hobbs repeated her promise to work across the aisle and include Republicans on her team.
“We must work together to make real progress,” she said. “That’s why you’ll see my administration bring people together from all parts of the state and from across the political spectrum – Democrats, Republicans and independents – with different points of view, to work side by side.”
She’s started to do that – her transition team was co-chaired by a Democrat and a Republican, and in a few key state agencies she’s keeping leaders appointed by her predecessor, former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. Mesa Mayor John Giles, a Republican supporter of Hobbs, also delivered a speech on Jan. 5.
The ceremony was held in the Capitol courtyard between the Arizona Senate and Arizona House of Representatives and drew hundreds of attendees. Those on hand included former Govs. Ducey, Jan Brewer and Fyfe Symington; U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema; and Sonora, Mexico Gov. Alfonso Durazo.
In addition to Hobbs, four other Arizona officials took the oath of office on Jan. 5: Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, Republican Treasurer Kim Yee and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. Robert Brutinel, chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, administered the oath of office to Fontes, Mayes, Yee and Horne.
For Hobbs, the oath was administered by Roopali Desai, a lawyer who represented her on many political and election cases while Hobbs was secretary of state. Desai was appointed to be a federal judge last year.
![](https://azcapitoltimes.com/files/2023/01/Inauguration-protesters-web-300x160.jpg)
A handful of protesters, kept far from the inaugural ceremonies, protest Jan. 5, 2023, against Gov. Katie Hobbs. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer)
The event was purely ceremonial, however. The five officials sworn in on Jan. 5, plus Republican Mine Inspector Paul Marsh, also took the oath of office on Jan. 2 at a private event in the Executive Tower. The public event was set for Jan. 5 to avoid falling on a holiday.
Hobbs’ 14-minute speech was aspirational and touched on the big promises she made during the gubernatorial campaign, but it didn’t lay out exactly how that will translate to lawmaking or executive action even as it came days before the start of the 2023 legislative session.
“We must find common ground and do what’s right,” she said. “To invest in public schools and finally provide the support our students, teachers and parents deserve; to create good-paying jobs at lower cost; to defend reproductive freedom and women’s rights; to ensure public safety in all communities; to ensure access to safe, affordable housing; to enable small businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive; to hold Washington accountable for our broken immigration system and its devastating impact on families and communities; to safeguard our elections; to protect our forests and public lands; to secure Arizona’s water future.”
Sticking to broad themes might be a nod to the fact that Hobbs, unlike Ducey, won’t have the luxury of dictating a policy agenda and working with members of her own party to push it through the Legislature. Or it might just mean she’s saving more explicit policy plans for her next major speech on Jan. 9, which will mark the start of the legislative term.
In an interview the day before the inauguration, Hobbs said her top three priorities for the 2023 legislative session are bolstering public education funding, addressing housing issues like affordability, and getting a state budget passed.
On Jan. 5, the courtyard was blanketed in white chairs for the attendees, with more seating on metal bleachers in the back. A miniature Arizona flag was laid on each seat. A drone – apparently a security measure – was tethered over the Senate building and then hovered over the crowd throughout the ceremony.
One issue hanging over the event was the fact that Hobbs hasn’t revealed exactly how it was funded. Her team has published a list of sponsors – which includes major corporations whose work is impacted by state law like Arizona Public Service and Banner Health – but hasn’t listed how much each sponsor donated to the inaugural day activities.
In spite of the talk about political cooperation and bipartisanship, some parts of Hobbs’ “unity” message could also be read as partisan talking points and could preview an ongoing political strategy for the Democrat who won office largely by casting her Republican opponent as out-of-touch and extreme.
“Now is the perfect time to move past division and partisanship and return to a path of cooperation and progress,” she said at one point. At another moment, speaking about voters’ choices in the November 2022 election, she said Arizona voters “rejected those who seek to divide, to pit Arizonan against Arizonan, community against community.”
That was a thinly veiled reference to Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who emulated former President Donald Trump’s political style and openly embraced his debunked claims about widespread fraud in Arizona’s elections. Lake did have prominent Republican detractors, but several GOP legislators supported her campaign.
Outside of the inaugural ceremony, beyond tall metal security fencing, a small group of Lake supporters gathered, carrying flags and yelling intermittently, their voices just barely audible as Hobbs and other officials laid out their plans for the state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)