Gov. Katie Hobbs' do-nothing-but-veto approach is no good for Arizona

Last week, Gov. Katie Hobbs completed her first 100 days in office.

Arizonans aren’t thrilled with what they’ve seen.

Morning Consult asked voters nationwide if they approved of their state’s chief executive. Out of 50 governors, Hobbs ranked 47th.

None of the governors were underwater, but Hobbs’ 47% approval and 36% disapproval landed her behind everyone but the leaders of Nebraska and Oregon.

The poll didn’t ask for reasons behind voters’ disapproval, but the answer seems obvious.

It’s been 100 days of nothing much.

Hobbs has been plenty involved in culture wars

At her inauguration, Hobbs promised to “move past division and partisanship and return to a path of cooperation and progress.”

The next month, she vetoed 13 bills in one day, and has since broken the state record for vetoing legislation.

To date, Hobbs has nuked 63 bills, flying by the former record of 58. Since the Legislature remains in session, she’s likely to veto a lot more.

Our new governor promised to focus on what voters really care about and ignore culture war issues.

She then promised to protect abortion rights, and issued executive orders focused on LGBTQ government workers and stopping “hair discrimination.”

Last month, Hobbs had to fire press secretary Josselyn Berry for tweeting an image of a woman with two guns and the message: “Us when we see transphobes.”

This was hours after the Nashville school shooting.

Her budget ignored a lot of her promises

Outside of totally not being involved in the culture wars, no way no how, Hobbs made a lot of other promises.

She would better fund public education, fix Arizona’s water woes, invest in affordable housing, make life more affordable, and hold the federal government accountable for a “broken immigration system.”

Maybe she’s saving that for the next 100 days.

After 100 days: Are Hobbs' fractures with GOP starting to close?

Minimal action has happened on any of these, outside of a creating a task force or three.

She made a lot of promises during her campaign, as well.

Hobbs promised to end Gov. Doug Ducey’s policy of busing migrants out of state. She kept the buses and added planes.

Hobbs demanded additional funding for the Governor’s Office for Equal Opportunity. Her proposed budget didn’t provide any.

That same budget offers a $100 per child tax credit for families making up to $40,000. She promised a $250 tax credit for families making up to $100,000.

Hobbs has mismanaged her veto pen

At times, it’s tough to remember we even have a governor.

Outside of her veto pen, Hobbs hasn’t demonstrated any plans to move the state forward or accomplish her stated goals.

Yes, she has an adversarial Legislature, but she knew that going in. Our governor hasn’t shown the ability to peel off the couple of Republican votes needed to pass her own agenda.

All the activity is in the House and Senate; Hobbs’s only contribution is signing a bill or stamping it with a big, red “No.”

“Vetoing is a tool that weak leaders will use in an effort to control legislative priorities,” Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge and a Senate GOP leader, said. “Instead of demonstrating diplomacy and bipartisanship, the governor is showcasing her failure to work across the aisle.”

Sen. Shope spoke too soon.

Hobbs did unite both parties this week – in opposition to her veto of House Bill 2509.

Nicknamed “the tamale bill,” it would have allowed home chefs to sell their food, including the Arizona staple of Christmas tamales.

I didn’t realize selling that husk-wrapped goodness was illegal, and confess to violating that law again and again.

Hobbs can veto gun legislation all she wants, but Arizonan politicians mess with Sonoran cuisine at their peril.

Jon Gabriel, a Mesa resident, is editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com and a contributor to The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. On Twitter: @exjon.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Katie Hobbs' do-nothing-but-veto approach only hurts Arizona