Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs knows she is outnumbered this legislative session, since Republicans expanded their majorities in the statehouse after the last election. But the first-term governor sees room for bipartisan compromise as she looks to advance policies that have long been stymied under the GOP-controlled Legislature.
While President-elect Donald Trump swept the battleground state, Hobbs noted in a recent interview with The Associated Press that Arizona voters also elected Democrat Ruben Gallego to the U.S. Senate, sending the message that they want their political leaders to work across the aisle to solve the thorniest of issues.
“The issues we’re facing — affordability for families, water security, protecting our border and keeping communities safe — those are not Republican or Democratic issues,” she said. “They’re just Arizona issues that our elected leaders, myself included, need to work together to solve.”.
On Monday, Hobbs says she’s willing to work with Republicans but will veto any legislation she believes fails to provide adequate solutions to the issues Arizonans are facing. In her first two years in office, she vetoed 216 Republican-backed bills, which included legislation targeting transgender students.
Hobbs, who will be up for reelection next year, outlined her priorities when she addressed lawmakers at the start of the session Monday. Here's a look at key policy areas:. Border security. It was just two weeks after the November election when Hobbs visited the Arizona-Mexico border and vowed to work with Trump’s administration on issues like stopping fentanyl trafficking. But she also acknowledged some families are worried about the president-elect's deportation threats.
