Katie Hobbs

Hobbs was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in Tempe.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Northern Arizona University and a master's degree in social work from Arizona State University. Her career experience includes working as a social worker and chief compliance officer with the Sojourner Center.[20][2]

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Campaign website

Hobbs' campaign website stated the following:

KATIE HOBBS' PLAN FOR AN ACCOUNTABLE ARIZONA

FROM THE DESK OF KATIE HOBBS

DEAR ARIZONANS,

Thank you for taking the time to consider my plan to ensure Arizona’s government works for you.

I have always believed that government can be a force for good, and for too long, your state government has been working for the powerful, the partisan, and the special interests. As your next governor, I pledge to build a government that is of, by, and for the people. We will make needed reforms and work to build the most ethical and accountable administration in history. We will work to bring people together and get stuff done to help Arizona.

Here’s where we’ll start:

We will cut red tape to make it easier to start a business, create jobs, and fix our schools.

We will eliminate wasteful spending and make sure Arizonans’ tax dollars are spent in Arizona.

We will make your government more transparent, because the people deserve to know what their leaders are doing with their money.

We will make your government more efficient to save taxpayer dollars and make it easier for citizens and small businesses to get what they need to succeed from state agencies.

We will embrace long-term planning, not short-term partisan point-scoring.

In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to discussing my plans with you. I also want to know what you think — please send me your feedback at www.katiehobbs.org/accountability.

Sincerely,

Katie Hobbs

As Arizona’s next governor, Katie Hobbs will continue to deliver accountability, transparency, and results for the people of Arizona. As a legislator and Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs fought to make government more efficient and cut red tape to help lower costs for taxpayers. She will continue this work as governor to make sure that our economy is on track to thrive.

Hobbs knows that Arizonans are tired of their tax dollars being wasted on partisan and political games, including the sham audit.

There are so many issues that Arizona faces — and Katie Hobbs is ready to tackle them to make Arizona the best place to live, work, and raise a family. That’s why Hobbs has proposed transformative policy plans that put Arizona first by cutting wasteful spending, lowering costs to taxpayers, and making state government open and accountable.

CUTTING RED TAPE

Unnecessary red tape is holding our businesses — especially small businesses — back from thriving, expanding, and creating good jobs. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they create critical jobs that keep tax dollars local and give back in countless ways to employees and the communities they serve.

Simplify Opening a Small Business: Starting a business in Arizona should be straightforward. But it often involves interacting with several state agencies including the Corporation Commission, the Department of Revenue, the Secretary of State, and the Commerce Authority, on top of registering with local governments. Hobbs will streamline the process to start a new business by unifying the application process under one roof so new businesses won’t have to navigate a web of government bureaucracy. Hobbs will also work to integrate this process into the completion of Business One-Stop.

Expedite Fixing Dilapidated Schools: Students need an environment conducive to learning, and schools shouldn’t need to jump through hoops to get crumbling classrooms fixed the right way — like fixing leaking roofs and replacing malfunctioning air conditioning systems. That’s why Katie Hobbs will streamline and cut red tape at the Arizona School Facilities Board. Hobbs will also expedite robust fixes to school buildings across the state and aim to lower the costs of long-term maintenance.

ELIMINATING WASTEFUL SPENDING

For too long, Arizonans have been kept in the dark about where their hard-earned dollars are going. Our current state government has been using taxpayer money for political pandering instead of investing in our future. Arizonans deserve to know how their money is being spent, and Katie Hobbs knows how to make our government accountable to the people and fix broken systems.

Probe Government Agencies for Wasteful Spending: Katie Hobbs will order a probe of all government agencies in search of inefficient, duplicative, and wasteful spending. Hobbs will expect a report from each department on these inefficiencies and a plan to eliminate them. This will help lower costs for everyday Arizonans and ensure every tax dollar is being thoughtfully used to improve the lives of the citizens we serve.

Implement an Arizona Jobs First Policy: To make our economy work better for Arizonans, Hobbs will push for more purchasing contracts to go to Arizona businesses. That’s why she will implement a policy to prioritize awarding state contracts to Arizona businesses over out-of-state companies.

Reforming The Department Of Corrections: A source of controversy in Arizona, the Department of Corrections needs reform to cut wasteful spending. Recent reports revealed the Department of Corrections was keeping inmates past their release dates and failing to provide rehabilitation programs to thousands who could return to a productive life. Hobbs will investigate these issues, implement policy to ensure tax dollars are not wasted, and reform the corrections system.

TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Government only works well if it is run well. Right now, Arizona’s state government is being run by conspiracy theorists who have wasted their time on political games instead of focusing on tackling real issues that we’re facing. Arizonans deserve a government that works for them. And leadership that is ready to deliver accountability, transparency, and results and work across the aisle to get things done.

Strengthen Conflict of Interest Laws: Owning individual stocks and controlling certain assets has the potential to create the appearance of a financial conflict of interest. That’s why Hobbs will fight to pass legislation requiring public officials to divest from stock and other assets whose value could be influenced by their legislation or employing department.

Tough New Lobbying Rules: Hobbs would fight for new lobbying rules to increase transparency and stop corruption. This will include requiring lobbyists to show all lobbying expenditures from the first dollar spent and require disclosure of the bills and subjects they’re lobbying on more frequently, and improve online access to comprehensive lobbyist filings. This will allow the public to readily identify any potential malfeasance by public officials and understand what lobbyists are discussing with elected officials.

Shining A Light On Who Is Influencing Our Elections: Hobbs will fight to ensure all dark money groups have to disclose every dollar spent on races in Arizona — because Arizonans have the right to know who is attempting to influence our elections.

Right to Petition the Government: In 2017, the GOP legislature attempted to restrict the ballot initiative process. To prevent any potential attempts by the legislature to limit Arizonans’ right to have their voices heard, Hobbs will veto any legislation designed to circumvent the public’s right to initiatives and referendums.

Transparency in Government Spending: To enable the most transparency and ensure public officials are held accountable for their decisions with taxpayer dollars, Hobbs will ensure the public is able to track and search all payments and paychecks issued by the state.

EFFICIENCY

Katie Hobbs knows what it’s like to be a statewide leader in the middle of unprecedented times, and has a track record of getting things done. As Secretary of State, she stepped into the role and took a wasteful and mismanaged office and worked with Democrats and Republicans to streamline operations, fix broken systems, and make the office accountable to the people — and she’s ready to bring that exact leadership to the governor’s office.

Formation of a Small Business Council: Katie Hobbs believes that for too long, Arizona’s small businesses have not had a clear line of communication with officials at the top of government to ensure they are getting the support they need. Everyday small businesses will have a direct line to Governor Hobbs through the formation of a Small Business Council, which will bring together small business owners, advocacy groups, and top government officials so that we can ensure the best ideas to help small businesses thrive are implemented.

Replace Broken Systems: Our state computer systems are in a state of disrepair, and Katie Hobbs will develop a plan to replace the antiquated systems used in Arizona. Arizonans deserve easy access to government services that don’t use computers from the 1980s or CD-roms for completion of public records requests. These investments are worthwhile, as we saw with the new voter registration database implemented by Secretary Hobbs, which resulted in increased security and access to information, and better reporting of voter registration statistics.

Put An End To Money Losing Policies: Arizona needs to maximize opportunities to get our federal tax dollars back. But news reports revealed that Arizona could lose $60 million in federal rental aid because the Department of Economic Security was slow to get critical assistance out the door to struggling tenants. And now the federal government has threatened to claw back COVID relief funds because of Ducey’s actions to reward school districts for not requiring mask wearing. Arizona needs to maximize opportunities to receive federal dollars, not lose them. Hobbs will ensure that partisan politics do not get in the way of helping everyday Arizonans and prioritize seeking out new opportunities to receive additional revenue through federal programs.

Streamline Support For Children And Families In Need: We need to cut government bloat to ensure everyday Arizonans are able to get assistance and lower costs for Arizona taxpayers. Families often interact with several state agencies to receive critical assistance, including the Department of Economic Security, Department of Child Safety, AHCCCS, and the Department of Housing. As a social worker, Hobbs saw firsthand how government bureaucracy can stand in the way of getting families the help they need to get back to stability. That’s why she will combine life changing services under fewer agencies to make government efficient for families to get the help they need.

LONG-TERM PLANNING

Our government has been divided for too long and it’s holding us back. Elected leaders need to work together to address the critical issues Arizonans are facing, and plan strategically for the future to make sure that our state is the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family. Katie Hobbs is ready to get to work to do just that, and break through gridlock to deliver for Arizonans.

Reform the Office of Strategic Planning And Budgeting: Arizona government has been in reactionary mode, without focus on or use of long-term planning to respond to the burgeoning needs. Our population is rapidly growing with a need for new infrastructure, a plan to mitigate the effects of climate change, and responding to the post-COVID economy. With the input from state, local, and private stakeholders, Hobbs will improve the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting that has gone underutilized. As we saw with the 2020 elections, planning ahead and being prepared are keys to successful execution of government functions. Katie Hobbs will not simply focus on fixing government for today, but prepare Arizona for the challenges we will face in the decades to come.

KATIE HOBBS' PLAN FOR AN INCLUSIVE ARIZONA

INTRODUCTION

ARIZONA’S STATE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T WORK FOR ALL ARIZONANS.

People of color have been systemically locked out of opportunity in this state, and our government has failed to break down those barriers.

Together, with underserved communities across this state, Katie Hobbs has built a plan to change that. She is listening to marginalized communities across Arizona, hearing their concerns about the present, and their hopes for the future. Katie knows that systemic inequities and racism have long permeated every aspect of our society. That’s why she’s championed policies that expand health care in communities of color, defended access to the right to vote for all Arizonans, and fought for justice for victims of domestic abuse. This plan, along with Katie’s Accountable Arizona plan that was released last month, is just the beginning. Katie believes that the next governor of Arizona must have both an inclusive vision for her administration — and a track record of delivering meaningful progress for all Arizonans.

This plan challenges a broken status quo with bold new policies. It is centered on four key objectives:

Making state government more inclusive by recruiting, hiring, and elevating women and underrepresented members of our community, and ensuring equality across all of state government.

Ensuring communities of color have access to economic opportunity by expanding capital for minority-owned and women-owned businesses, building a better pipeline to make good-paying STEM jobs accessible to more Arizonans, and addressing inequities in tipped wages.

Improving and defending access to women’s reproductive health care, especially the right to choose, as rigid and uncompromising politicians play politics with women’s bodies.

Defending the fundamental rights of Arizonans, including the right to vote and full equality under the law.

I’m committed to listening, learning, and understanding how I can put my words into action — not just for those whose voices need to be heard in our government, but for everyone who I hope to represent and serve as governor. Because I am asking to be the leader of this great state, I need to be more than an ally, I need to be your advocate.

KATIE HOBBS

MAKING STATE GOVERNMENT INCLUSIVE

Katie will work to ensure that government is inclusive, provides equal opportunity, and dismantles systemic racism to uplift the lives of all Arizonans and ensure equal access to critical government services and opportunities.

Recruiting, Hiring, and Elevating Women and People From Underrepresented Communities. Katie knows representation is critical to ensuring all Arizonans are heard in a Hobbs administration, and across all agencies of the government. That’s why Katie will continue to focus on recruiting, hiring, and elevating women and people from underrepresented communities across the board, including in senior leadership.

Creating the Roles of Chief Equity Officer and Civil Rights Policy Advisor. To hold the state accountable to hire employees who represent the wide-ranging diversity of our state, a Hobbs administration will create the position of Chief Equity Officer to implement measures that build a more diverse government and enforce transparency and accountability within the ranks of the government. And Katie will empower a Civil Rights Policy Advisor in the Governor’s office to focus on executive orders for immediate action on equity, help develop Katie’s legislative agenda, and coordinate input from community leaders. These new positions will ensure the Governor’s office is inclusive and committed to advancing important policies for underserved communities.

Overhaul the Office of Equal Opportunity. The Office of Equal Opportunity has been underfunded and underutilized. Katie will support the Office by demanding additional funding to ensure clear and direct human resources protocols within every government workplace, including our legislature, to identify unequal pay in state agencies, to foster a work environment free of discrimination or harassment, and to implement accountability measures that protect public servants and foster a healthy work environment.

Dedicate a New Role Within Each Agency to Identify Opportunities to Collaborate With Underserved Communities. Too often, underrepresented members of our community and people with disabilities are disproportionately left out of government-funded opportunities and overlooked in the implementation of policy. A Hobbs Administration will create a new position in each state agency to focus on outreach to underserved communities and improve critical access to government resources. To track progress in expanding resources for these communities, each agency will be responsible for releasing an annual report that identifies baseline metrics to measure progress year-to-year and identify equity policy changes with their tangible impacts.

Publicly Audit Statewide Employee Salaries to Identify Pay Inequities. There are pay inequities within state position classifications that should be reviewed and corrected, as was undertaken by her administration in the Secretary of State’s Office in 2019. The state should publicly release and audit salary data on an annual basis to identify and correct these disparities while maintaining competitive salaries that help retain diverse talent.

AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR ALL ARIZONANS

Every Arizonan deserves access to a good job that provides for their family, and Katie will take action — within the executive branch and together with the legislature — to build an economy in which the doors of opportunity are wide open for women and people of color.

Investing in Minority Businesses by Expanding Access to Capital. To spur the growth of minority- and women-owned businesses, Katie knows access to capital is critical but many of these businesses face unequal lending access from large banks, even as underrepresented communities have a higher rate of starting or running a business. That’s why Katie will work with the legislature to develop a program administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority aimed at easing access to capital by providing fixed-rate loans and lines of credit to these entrepreneurs through partnerships with local banks. A Hobbs administration will also investigate options to leverage a combination of tax credits, grants, and microloans to promote new business startups and growth in small but successful businesses.

Strengthening and Developing State Economic Opportunities. Katie will work to prioritize disadvantaged businesses in state contract opportunities by using a state certification for underrepresented businesses and prioritizing contracts for them. By utilizing a certification program, the state can readily grow and target opportunities to these vendors who may otherwise not apply for state contracts. Katie will also ask each agency to review and report the number of contracts given to disadvantaged businesses to hold the state accountable for expanding the number of businesses that receive contracts.

Expanding Diversity in STEM Jobs. We need to prioritize training students for good-paying jobs in our rapidly growing STEM sector. While STEM jobs pay double that of non-STEM fields on average, people of color and women are staggeringly underrepresented. That’s why a Hobbs Administration will work with the Department of Education to provide new funding for grants and scholarships dedicated to creating more STEM educators, and providing resources to build a pipeline of diverse students with the skills needed to land jobs with Arizona employers.

Eliminating the Tipped Minimum Wage. The tipped minimum wage is disproportionately harmful to women and people of color, particularly Black women, who earned on average nearly $5 less per hour than their white male counterparts. Katie will work to eliminate the tipped minimum wage, which will reduce poverty and inequality while promoting total employment growth for small businesses.

IMPROVING WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND CHOICES

As a social worker and a mother, Katie saw firsthand the disproportionate impact public policy has on women of color and will work to improve women’s reproductive health and choices. That’s why as a legislator, she fought to defend women’s reproductive rights and led the fight to ensure testing of rape kits.

Fighting for Access to Reproductive Health Care. Abortion rights are under attack in Arizona. That is why Katie will veto any legislation that attacks Roe v. Wade as well as work to repeal a law from 1901 that requires mandatory prison time for abortion providers and a 1930s law that makes advertising for birth control or abortion services a misdemeanor. A Hobbs Administration will also propose measures to expand access to reproductive health care including access to birth control and emergency contraceptives and direct the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to expeditiously move on rule-making in support of legislation passed allowing pharmacists to prescribe hormonal birth control methods.

Reducing Maternal Mortality During Pregnancy. For Indigenous women, the maternal mortality rate was four times that of white women. And for Black, Asian and Pacific Islander women, maternal mortality was more than double the rate of white women. A key component of Katie’s agenda will be to reduce maternal mortality, which disproportionately impacts pregnant mothers of color. A Hobbs Administration will dedicate specific funding to ADHS to implement the proposals by the Advisory Committee on Maternal Fatalities and Morbidities. The Administration will also improve AHCCCS care for pregnant and postpartum women by extending Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months postpartum.

Cutting Costs for Women. In more than half the country, including Arizona, feminine hygiene products are not exempt from sales taxes, even as one in five girls miss school or leave early due to a lack of period products. This is an unfair tax on women, which is why Katie will fight to pass legislation to tax-exempt these products which are critical to women’s lives.

DEFENDING AND EXPANDING FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

As Secretary of State, Katie has been at the forefront of defending Arizonans’ fundamental right to vote and expanding access to the ballot in underserved communities. As governor, Katie will expand upon this work and her elevated role to address systemic racism in the criminal justice system and codify new equal rights protections.

Improve Access to the Ballot for Communities of Color. Building on her work as Secretary of State, Katie will veto any new voter suppression legislation and fight to reverse the decision to ban out-of-precinct ballots from being counted. A Hobbs Administration will also continue to protect access to vote centers, early voting sites throughout the state, and access to secure ballot drop boxes in communities where mail service is not always reliable. And to ensure full tribal participation, early voting should be available and accessible in places where tribal members will be gathering, and Katie will continue to advocate for the acceptance of non-traditional addresses to make voting by mail more accessible.

Reducing and Eliminating Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. Arizona leads the nation with the fifth-highest incarceration rate, imprisoning women at almost twice the rate of the national average, with almost four times as many Black children in jail compared to white children, and where white people are more likely to have their case dismissed than Black or Hispanic people in Maricopa County. These are just a few of the impacts that Arizona’s justice system has on minority communities, which harms Arizonans’ fundamental rights and is financially costly to taxpayers.

Katie will create a Governor’s panel, composed of diverse community leaders, to inform criminal justice reform policymaking and build grassroots support for meaningful change.

Katie will work to reform Arizona’s antiquated sentencing laws; provide additional funding to support re-entry into society; work with local law enforcement to address systemic racism in policing; and improve the sentencing provisions to encourage more frequent use of alternative sentences.

Katie will prioritize appointing Black, Latino, and Indigenous people serving in judicial appointments and to other court leadership roles.

Fight to Strengthen Equal Rights. Katie will work to secure ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which the state legislature continues to stall session after session. A Hobbs Administration will also work to enact anti-discrimination policies that will ensure equality by explicitly banning LGBTQ+ discrimination in a variety of areas including housing, education, adoption, foster care, insurance, public accommodations, and procuring credit. Katie will also work to pass a ban on profiling by law enforcement based upon race, gender identity, or sexual orientation and establish public metrics to track profiling.

CONCLUSION

The policies in this plan are just the beginning. There is so much more work to be done to build an equitable, inclusive Arizona. But the work must start immediately to build a government that is inclusive, accountable, and works for all Arizonans.

Taken together, these steps will make a concrete impact on communities of color across Arizona. For too long, too many Black, Latino, and Indigenous people in our state have been unable to access opportunity; they have been systemically locked out of the American Dream. Arizona’s next governor must act immediately — independently where possible, bringing the legislature along where she must — to provide relief to Arizona’s families.

Over the coming weeks and months, Katie will be unveiling additional policy proposals, to create good jobs, to make everyday life more affordable, to improve education, and more. She has a track record of bringing Arizonans together and working across the aisle to get the job done. As our next governor, she’ll build an Arizona that is inclusive, equitable, and that works for all Arizonans.

KATIE HOBBS' PLAN FOR VOTING RIGHTS

FROM THE DESK OF KATIE HOBBS

DEAR ARIZONANS,

We are at a defining moment in our democracy. The frontline of the fight to strengthen our election systems and defend the freedom to vote is right here in Arizona.

As Secretary of State, I’ve fought against sham audits, misinformation, and efforts to simply throw out the ballots of tens of thousands of eligible Arizonans. We’ve pushed back against this anti-democratic extremism, and prevailed every step of the way.

But these dangerous forces have not stopped their effort to silence the voices of Arizonans. Instead, they’ve launched an all-out assault on our freedom to vote, all in the name of the Big Lie and their own cynical pursuit of power. Despite the fact that our elections are conducted safely and securely, voter suppression bills are being introduced in Republican-led state legislatures across the country, and proponents of the Big Lie are running to oversee election results in statewide and local offices.

Let me be clear: I’m ready to work hand in hand with Democrats and Republicans to protect the freedom to vote. Our democracy isn’t partisan, our Constitution isn’t partisan, and the freedom to exercise our most fundamental democratic right should not be partisan. Arizonans deserve a governor — and a government — that works tirelessly on their behalf to protect and expand the freedom to vote for every eligible person.

With voting rights reform efforts unwisely stalled in Congress, it’s more critical than ever that we have a leader in the governor’s office who is ready on day one to defend Arizonans against these extreme attacks on the right to vote.

Today, I’m excited to introduce a plan that builds on the work we’ve already been doing to protect the freedom to vote. Despite ongoing threats, I’m more focused and determined than ever to work tirelessly on behalf of Arizonans to uphold the Constitution and stand up for the freedom to vote — the bedrock principle of our democracy.

— Secretary Katie Hobbs

Today, unfounded attacks on the integrity of our elections threaten to take us backwards and derail all the progress we have made to make sure that every eligible Arizonan of all political leanings has access to the polls. Already, there are several extreme and unpopular bills that have been introduced in the legislature to disenfranchise everyday Arizonans, including new limitations on early voting and to ban the use of secure ballot drop-boxes.

Against this backdrop of dysfunction and extremism, Katie supports a commonsense suite of voting rights measures to defend access to the ballot for every eligible Arizonan.

Katie is the leader Arizona needs today to protect our fundamental rights, and she will not shy away from the fight for what is right: every eligible Arizonan should be readily able to exercise their freedom to vote.

A PLAN TO ENSURE ACCESS TO THE BALLOT FOR ALL ARIZONANS

Although the legislature has only been in session for a few weeks, we’ve seen a flurry of bills out of the gate that would restrict access to the ballot and make it harder for Arizonans to exercise their freedom to vote.

Instead of putting partisanship aside to ensure that ever