Katie Hobbs’ Proven Leadership and Unifying Message Shines in Arizona Chamber Forum

Hobbs pledges to provide a ‘steady hand of leadership’ to make Arizona the best place for businesses and local economies to thrive

PHOENIX – Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for governor Katie Hobbs spoke at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s gubernatorial candidate forum on Wednesday, cementing herself as the only candidate in the race who is willing and capable of working across the aisle to deliver common-sense solutions for the communities and businesses of Arizona.

Below is an excerpt of Hobbs’ Q&A discussion with Arizona Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden:

• [Seiden]: Have you given any thought to what your first year might look like?

[Hobbs]: I have the advantage of having served in the legislature and at an executive level in statewide office, so I understand how government works. And I’m ready to provide a steady hand of leadership that’s going to continue to steer our state in the right direction. 

I’ve spent the last year plus on the campaign trail, talking to voters across the state about the issues they’re concerned about. I’m hearing from them about affordability, about our state’s water crisis, about fixing our education system. We have plans for all of those things, and those plans are going to help us get to work on Day One.

• [Seiden]: Do you see yourself as a governor who will be out there personally wooing companies?

[Hobbs]: Absolutely. Who better than the governor to make the case for why Arizona is a great place to do business and to sell our brand? I think it’s important to have someone who is serious about governing, and not someone who’s going to continue to end up as the butt of late night comedy television jokes, that’s not going to be effective.

• [Seiden]: What are you saying now to voters who might have voted for your opponents in [the] primary to try and win them over and earn their vote in the general?

[Hobbs]: I’ve been talking to voters across the state. I don’t care if they’re Democrats, Republicans or Independents, the issues I mentioned, I’m hearing from across the board. And they’re not Democrat or Republican issues. They’re Arizona issues and they need Arizona solutions. […] At the end of the day, this election is not about Democrats or Republicans. It is about sanity versus chaos.

• [Seiden]: What would you say to everyone here in closing, and maybe address your record where we didn’t always agree?

[Hobbs]: Governing is not sitting on the ninth floor and telling people what to do. It is working in partnership to make our state the best place it can possibly be for everyone where every Arizonan can thrive. […] I don’t think that is a Democratic agenda or Republican agenda. It is an Arizona agenda, and we can work together to do that.