She’s doing it again.
As she did in the primary by refusing to debate, and as she’s responding to questions about who paid for her inauguration bash, Gov. Katie Hobbs is ignoring the border issue and Cochise County is paying the price.
We as voters probably should have expected this. When she refused to step up to the podium and debate Republican opponent Kari Lake, it should have been a clear warning sign that Katie Hobbs is a political coward and a Democratic Party hack.
Shortly after she won the election, she had an expensive inauguration ball. Constituents have a right to know who paid for the festivities. So far, she’s refused, and pooh-poohed media inquires as nothing more than GOP flack.
Now she’s ignoring the border.
Gov. Hobbs has yet to meet with Arizona sheriffs, including our own Mark Dannels, and her office minions have said they will only do so if the sheriffs from Santa Cruz and Pima — both Democrats — are part of the mix.
Thus far, our new governor has signed just two bills into law, and rejected several dozen, again passing them off as GOP initiatives aimed at stirring a culture war, not solving the problems of “real Arizonans.”
Last we checked, real Arizonans live here in Cochise County and we have a serious problem with the border. We have witnessed numerous fatal crashes involving “load drivers” who endanger public safety speeding through intersections and transporting illegal migrants across the border.
How does Gov. Hobbs respond?
She’s pulling the National Guard support — a group of more than 30 soldiers who have served as needed assistants for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department. These soldiers are monitoring cameras along the border, they are providing support at the jail, and they are performing numerous non-enforcement tasks that free deputies to better protect Cochise County residents.
We’ve got news for Gov. Hobbs.
As the Biden administration has already learned, ignoring the border issue and pretending it’s not an issue, will only make matters worse. Her refusal to acknowledge public safety and specifically the challenges currently confronting Arizona on its southern border demonstrate her failed leadership.
Instead of addressing the issue of illegal border crossings — even if she had an argument supporting her apparent belief that it’s not an issue — Katie Hobbs stays silent, won’t meet with the key parties involved, and literally hopes it will all go away.
She’s less than six months into her first term, and already she has shown an inability to lead.
As we predicted before she was sworn in, based on the Republican majority in the Legislature, we didn’t expect much could be accomplished by Gov. Hobbs.
Now, by pretending the border isn’t an issue and actually making things worse by pulling out the National Guard support, we’re convinced that her failed leadership will only exacerbate the problems we are already experiencing.