'A new chapter for Arizona': Gov. Katie Hobbs, 5 other state leaders take office

Arizona's 24th governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs, took office Monday alongside a slate of officeholders who could significantly shift the policy priorities of the state in the next four years.

Hobbs, Arizona's election chief, succeeded two-term Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and took the oath of office on her family's Catholic Bible that dates to 1976. Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Roopali Desai, a friend of Hobbs who has defended her in election-related cases, administered the oath to the incoming governor, while Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel gave the other oaths.

Brutinel swore in Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, incumbent Republican Treasurer Kimberly Yee and Republican Mine Inspector Paul Marsh, who won election to the position in 2022 after being appointed in 2021 to fill the term of the late Joe Hart.

The brief swearing-in — the official start of the Hobbs administration — was not open to the public or reporters but viewable via a live feed on Facebook, prompting questions about Hobbs' pledges of transparency made as a candidate.

The feed conveyed the emotion of the day that capped hard-fought campaigns and legal challenges after the victories: Hobbs' oath was briefly interrupted seven words in as her mother, who held the family Bible, appeared to cry.

"Stop it, mom," Hobbs told her mother, with a laugh. Hobbs' father, husband and their two adult children stood by her side for the oath.

"I, Kathleen Marie Hobbs, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Arizona, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and defend them against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of governor according to the best of my ability, so help me God."

Each official swore verbally and in writing to uphold and defend the Arizona and United States constitutions, as well as state law, and faithfully and impartially fulfill the duties of their office. The swearing-in took about 18 minutes.

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The formal transfer of power marks the first time in nearly 50 years that the top three posts in state government have been occupied by Democrats. It is the first time since 2006 that Arizonans have elected a Democrat to the Governor's Office, and that alone will bring a shift from Ducey's eight years of conservative leadership on fiscal and social issues.

Ducey's first act as governor in 2015, as an example, was an executive order that sought to make it harder to create state regulations. Hobbs' first use of her authority on Monday, hours after being sworn in, was an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination in state agencies and requiring them to adopt anti-discrimination policies for hiring and contracts.

Ducey, who has helped with Hobbs' transition, left a note behind in his office for his successor, a copy of which was provided by Hobbs' staff. The four-paragraph handwritten note on state letterhead congratulated Hobbs on her victory, wished her success and made an offer: "I'm only a phone call away."

"Every day as governor is an adventure," Ducey wrote. "It is the greatest job in politics and an immense responsibility. I know you will serve the people of Arizona well."

Hobbs has pledged to protect abortion rights, bring equity and accountability to state government, fund public education, and back programs like a child tax credit that could make life more affordable for low- and moderate-income Arizonans.

Achieving many of her policy priorities will require support of the Arizona Legislature, which will begin a new session next week with single-vote Republican majorities, new leadership and members that seem to be more politically extreme than in years past.

“Today marks a new chapter for Arizona," Hobbs said in a statement after being sworn in. "As we look forward to a brighter future, I pledge that the needs of Arizonans — not partisan politics — will always come first.

"I will work with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to tackle our state’s biggest challenges," the statement read, naming public education, water issues, abortion rights and affordability as top issues.

Arizona voters in November rebuffed the Trump-endorsed Republican candidates who ran against Hobbs, Fontes and Mayes, though several legal challenges from losing candidates and a recount in Mayes' race extended the election drama for several weeks through December.

Because Monday is a holiday in observance of New Year's Day, which fell on Sunday, the Hobbs campaign chose to host a public inauguration ceremony on Thursday. That event is separate from the official oaths that are required by the Arizona Constitution on the first Monday in January.

A spokesman for the inauguration said doing separate events would allow the public better access, noting the timing of the holiday.

Transparency an early issue

Hobbs, whose initial policy proposal on the campaign trail included a pledge of government transparency, did not allow any reporters into the swearing in that officially marked the beginning of her tenure as the state's chief executive. A photographer from The Associated Press was the only journalist in the room Monday.

The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com repeatedly requested that a reporter be allowed to attend but were denied, and a reporter was turned away by security at the state's executive tower near the Capitol in Phoenix on Monday morning. The swearing in was held on the ninth floor of the building, which houses the Governor's Office.

Hobbs' aides involved in the inauguration also have declined to disclose the amount of money private interests are spending on the public ceremony and an inaugural ball set for Saturday, a decision first reported by Capitol Media Services.

Hobbs was unavailable for an interview Monday. Hobbs' spokesperson Murphy Hebert said the administration did "intend to prioritize transparency," and that taxpayer dollars would not be spent on the inaugural events.

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Hobbs beat Republican former television news anchor Kari Lake by 17,000 votes to become the state's 24th governor. She is Arizona's fifth female governor, more than have served in any other state, and was sworn in by Desai, who was confirmed to the federal appeals bench in August.

Desai was named a 2022 Woman of the Year by USA Today, an affiliate publication of The Republic. Both news organizations are owned by Gannett.

Hobbs' campaign highlighted her work as secretary of state overseeing elections and her experience serving eight years in the Arizona Legislature before that. Her newfound prominence on the national stage came from defending election procedures and officials from the attacks of former President Donald Trump and his faithful followers.

Those allies include Lake, who has continued her legal challenge and asked that the Arizona Supreme Court review her case. A Maricopa County judge on Christmas Eve dismissed Lake's challenge after hearing testimony and finding no clear and convincing evidence the election was rigged against Lake.

The oath of office launched Hobbs' frenzied first two weeks in office. In addition to the public inauguration and ball, Hobbs will deliver her first State of the State address Jan. 9 and a budget proposal Jan. 13.

She has begun appointing members of her cabinet, a mix of new hires and current agency leaders, who will need to be confirmed by the state Senate, but has many left to announce.

Getting to work

With their oaths behind them, Arizona's newest slate of leaders now undertakes the task of putting campaign promises into practice.

"Now, we get to work," Fontes said as he left the ceremony. His 18-year-old daughter, Olivia Fontes, served as his official witness to the oath.

"We've got a lot of tasks to deal with," he said. "We're going to hit those three big objectives: Working with the business community, working on our libraries and archives, and then of course shoring up whatever support we can for election officials across the state."

Fontes, who previously served one term as the recorder in Maricopa County before the 2020 election, said he planned to visit all 15 counties as quickly as possible to assess the needs of local election officials.

Horne, a former state lawmaker and attorney general, makes his return to the largely administrative role of overseeing public education for a third time. He previously served two terms as superintendent of public instruction after being elected in 2002.

"We have got to get the kids to learn more and get the test scores up. That's a big job when you're talking about the whole state," he said.

Fontes and Horne declined to comment on the decision to bar reporters from the swearing in.

Mayes left the ceremony to head directly to the Attorney General's Office in central Phoenix. Mayes worked as a reporter at The Phoenix Gazette and The Republic in the 1990s before going to law school, joining the administration of Arizona's last Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano, and later serving on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in the state.

She said her first tasks include canceling the state's land leases to Saudi Arabian farmers, a sweetheart deal that draws on water resources and was highlighted by The Republic last year; holding meetings about the state's position in court cases challenging funding for school facilities; and amping up consumer fraud investigations.

Mayes also wants to create a reproductive rights protection section within her new office.

Arizona has two conflicting laws on the books, one banning almost all abortions at any stage of pregnancy dating back to 1864, and one from 2022 that bans abortions after 15 weeks without exceptions for rape or incest.

On Friday, an appeals court in Tucson ruled the 2022 law prevented physicians who perform abortions up to 15 weeks from being prosecuted.

Mayes, who like Hobbs campaigned on a pledge to protect abortion access, praised that ruling but said there was more work to be done in her office's new unit.

"I want to work with county attorneys across Arizona to let them know my views on the unconstitutionality of these bans, and there are a lot of other things that I talked about on the campaign trail that I think we can do to protect the reproductive rights of Arizonans," she said.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, 5 other state leaders take office