governor Katie Hobbs Contact information

Born and raised right here in the Grand Canyon State, Katie Hobbs has dedicated her life to listening to her community and helping solve difficult challenges for the people of Arizona. A fearless advocate for Arizona, Katie is ready to bring transparency and accountability to the governor’s office and deliver real results for all of us.

Katie has never shied away from the toughest challenges our state faces because she has lived some of those same challenges. Katie grew up in Tempe in a hard-working middle class family that knows the value of a dollar and the dignity of hard work. She learned the value of service from her parents and from her faith. Starting as a kid who volunteered at church, she has spent her entire life serving – and has never stopped.

She put herself through college at Northern Arizona University and graduate school at Arizona State University with a combination of work study and scholarships, and then immediately started as a social worker helping everyday Arizonans. Her first job out of college was working with homeless youth in Phoenix, and then she helped run one of the largest domestic abuse shelters in the country. There, Katie provided critical resources to thousands of women suffering from domestic violence, and she saw the devastating effects that poverty and lack of access to reproductive health care create.

In her time as a social worker and running a domestic violence shelter, Katie saw firsthand the price Arizonans pay when their elected leaders fail to address the problems people are facing day in and day out. Frustrated with the lack of leadership, Katie decided to run for office herself, and she used her experience as a social worker to take on Arizona’s toughest challenges.

In the legislature, she worked with both parties to expand health care to over 500,000 Arizonans. She worked across the aisle to find new ways to tackle the growing opioid epidemic here in Arizona. And she worked with a Republican governor to clear the state’s rape kit backlog and put sexual assault offenders in jail.

When Katie became Secretary of State in 2018, she had more tough challenges to tackle. She promised to bring trust and accountability to the office – and she did. Katie modernized the office, fixed broken systems, battled misinformation, and navigated the pandemic. These changes led to the administration of the historically secure 2020 election.

That’s the kind of leadership Katie will bring to the governor’s office – real solutions, not finger pointing or conspiracy theories. She will bring people together to solve our most urgent problems.

Katie has never backed down from a tough fight, and she is a battle-tested leader with the strength and experience to get the job done. Now Katie’s running for governor to deliver real results for everyday Arizonans and finally bring the leadership required to solve the most urgent issues Arizona faces today.

ELECTED OUR SECRETARY OF STATE IN 2018, KATIE FACED AN UPHILL BATTLE.

The prior administration was mired in dysfunction, had wasted taxpayer dollars, and failed on voter protection. There was a lack of accountability to Arizonans. Katie got to work to set things straight.

Under Katie’s leadership, the office was transformed. Katie modernized the office, fixed faulty and broken systems, and battled misinformation from foreign and domestic sources. In the face of threats to herself, her family, and her colleagues, Katie stepped up and fearlessly delivered a historically secure election for Arizona.

Katie knows firsthand that government only works well if it’s led well. For Katie, that means transparency and accountability. It means focusing on our common needs, not the small differences that divide us. It means bringing people together to serve our state, not tearing us apart for political gain. And it means creating opportunity for all – regardless of zip code, gender, race, or ability.

THAT IS WHY KATIE IS READY TO SERVE ARIZONA AS OUR NEXT GOVERNOR.

We can count on Katie Hobbs to bring her fearless dedication to Arizona with her to the governor’s office – just like she’s always done. She’s committed to protecting women’s reproductive freedom, investing in our public schools to give every child in Arizona a world class education, finally addressing our water crisis and securing our water supply, and lowering costs on everything from housing to groceries to school supplies.

Arizonans are tired of partisan bickering. They want someone who will put the politics aside and get the job done. That’s who Katie is, and that’s what she’ll do starting on Day One.

AFFORDABLE ARIZONA

Katie Hobbs is running for governor to deliver accountability, transparency, and results for every Arizonan. This state faces its share of challenges, and as our next governor, Katie will get to work to make Arizona the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Katie knows what’s possible when leaders work together to improve the lives of those they represent. In the legislature, she worked across the aisle to expand Medicaid so that hundreds of thousands of Arizonans could finally have access to health care. And as Secretary of State, Katie took a wasteful and mismanaged office and worked with Democrats and Republicans to streamline operations, fix broken systems, and made the office more accountable to the people. And in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, Katie ensured that no voter had to choose between their freedom to vote and their health and safety.

Unfortunately, our leaders are not working in the best interests of Arizonans. Right now, working families face ongoing economic uncertainties. We aren’t training our workforce for the sustainable jobs that we know are growing Arizona’s economy. And we aren’t taking the necessary steps to make sure Arizonans can look out for the well-being of themselves and their children. Whether it’s rising prices brought on by inflation, or the worsening of long-standing economic and racial disparities, our leaders need to come together and provide urgent relief for those who need it most.

Here’s how we will start:

We will lower costs for families with children by: establishing a state-level child tax credit, which has been shown to reduce poverty, that will go towards affording the essentials needed to raise a child.

• We will also exempt diapers and baby formula from sales taxes, and implement a sales tax holiday on school supplies, so these essential goods can be affordable.

We will help Arizonans get back to work in good-paying jobs by:

• Creating a refundable tax credit for career and technical education opportunities, and by permanently expanding child care assistance, we can reduce some of the barriers to work.

Finally, we will protect the health and well-being of Arizona families by:

• Exempting over-the-counter medicines and feminine hygiene products from sales taxes, so that Arizonans of all ages and genders can better take care of their health.

By providing much-needed relief to Arizona families, we can also grow our economy and set our state up for long-term prosperity. When more Arizonans are able to afford school supplies, medications, and get the training they need for a good-paying job, they become part of a healthier and more dependable workforce. And when more businesses are able to grow, they make our state more competitive and attractive to workers.

REPRODUCTIVE CARE IN ARIZONA

In a gut-wrenching decision, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right to safe and legal abortions for five decades. As a social worker and as a domestic violence advocate, I’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects that a dangerous, traumatizing, or unplanned pregnancy can have on a woman and her family. As a public official, I’ve fought tirelessly to protect our right to reproductive health care for more than a decade.

Let me be clear — the decision to have a child should rest solely between a woman and her doctor, not the government or politicians.

In September, an Arizona judge allowed the 1901 abortion ban to go into effect, which outlaws abortion, requires prison time for nurses and doctors, and makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Our courts have failed to intervene and overturn this 100-year-old law, eliminating Arizonans’ fundamental right to make decisions about our own bodies.

On day one, I will call a special session of the legislature to repeal the draconian 1901 law. If Republicans in the legislature fail to respect the will of their constituents and fail to protect women’s health, I will lead an effort, alongside our state’s reproductive health care advocates, for a ballot measure to repeal and replace this abortion ban with one that is in line with the beliefs of the vast majority of Arizonans.

I will work tirelessly to increase access to safe and legal abortion services and reproductive care, use my veto pen to oppose any restrictive and extreme measures coming from the legislature, and make sure that women and families have the resources they need to thrive right here in Arizona.

The failure to act by our courts and legislature has created a dangerous situation for women and families. It especially affects people of color, people living in rural areas, low-income communities, and those who already face barriers to accessing the reproductive care they need. I’ve witnessed the vicious cycle that poverty and lack of access to reproductive health care create, and I will not allow this ruling to take us back in time and erode the rights we have fought so hard to secure.

Arizonans deserve a governor who has been on the frontlines of this fight for decades. I plan to do everything in my power as a mother, a social worker, a domestic violence advocate, and as governor to stop these unprecedented attacks and to secure women’s rights for the next generation.

RESILIENT ARIZONA

Arizona should be the best place to live, work, and raise a family. But today, compounding threats — to our water, our natural resources, and our climate — are already disrupting our economy, our livelihoods, and our way of life. Outdated management and infrastructure leave too many of our neighbors without clean, safe, and reliable water. Wildfires, extreme heat, and drought are wreaking havoc on our forests, parks, rivers, and lakes. And as the effects of climate change become more extreme and unpredictable, the need to transition to a sustainable clean energy economy becomes increasingly urgent.

It’s not enough to attempt to mitigate the damage that’s already being done. Without reliable access to water, our economy and Arizona jobs will be put at risk. We need real leadership that brings people together and creates innovative solutions to expand job and economic opportunities while improving the health and well-being of Arizonans.

Arizona is one of just a handful of states without a dedicated state agency charged with overseeing sustainability and energy programs. That’s why, as governor, Katie will establish the Water and Energy Innovation Initiative, tasked with securing our water supply and advancing a clean energy economy in partnership with state agencies, businesses, underserved communities, and tribal communities.

As governor, Katie will provide leadership to address the burgeoning water crisis, preserve our natural resources, and build a 21st-century clean energy economy that puts Arizona on a path to long-term prosperity. Through the Resilient Arizona plan, Katie Hobbs will:

• Secure and modernize Arizona’s water supply by better conserving and managing our water, investing in and upgrading our infrastructure, and providing the leadership needed to bring Arizonans together so that every stakeholder has a seat at the table.
• Protect Arizona’s precious natural resources, like our forests, parks, and bodies of water, from the devastating effects of climate change that we’re already experiencing.
• Invest in a 21st-century clean energy economy that lowers costs for Arizonans, diversifies our energy infrastructure, and addresses the challenges brought by climate change.

SECURING ARIZONA

For decades, both parties in Washington have treated immigration as a political football instead of coming together to actually solve problems. The types of real solutions that would actually help our state — especially our border communities — have been in short supply. Instead, all we hear from politicians is empty rhetoric.

And let’s be clear — disingenuous attacks from Republicans are nothing more than political stunts to cover up for the fact that they haven’t done anything to address this issue for decades. Even after Donald Trump made anti-immigrant policies and the border wall a centerpiece of his campaign, and as president had two years of unified Republican government, he didn’t deliver solutions. And here in Arizona, Republican candidates for governor are publicly making promises to voters that they privately acknowledge they can’t keep. They don’t have real solutions to offer and they don’t want to solve the problem because they’d rather keep using the border as a political attack every election season.

It’s past time for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that addresses both our current crises and our future challenges. We need to secure our border, prevent criminals and traffickers from entering the country, and end the chaos and lawlessness we’ve watched for decades. But let’s also recognize the very real and devastating humanitarian crisis that’s at our doorstep. And no comprehensive immigration reform plan is complete without legislation to give DREAMers the stability and certainty they deserve and a path to citizenship.

Americans want a lawful and orderly immigration process. We need policies that encourage people to choose to participate in a tough but fair legal immigration process and disincentivize people from trying to enter the country illegally. And we can do this while helping boost Arizona’s economy in the short and long term.

For too long, our leaders haven’t been willing to tell the truth and haven’t offered real solutions, which has forced Arizona to continue to bear the brunt of our immigration crisis. As governor, I will use the tools at my disposal to bring resources to our border communities and provide meaningful relief for Arizonans suffering the consequences of decades of federal inaction.

PREPARED ARIZONA

I was born and raised right here in the Grand Canyon State. I went to school here, I learned to be a compassionate social worker at NAU and ASU, and my children received their education from Arizona schools. Like you, I know that Arizona can be the best place in the country to live, work and raise a family. That starts with making sure our children are receiving a high-quality education, but we know there’s work to do to make that goal a reality.

Every child deserves access to a world-class education, no matter where they live in Arizona. That means:

• Free early childhood education for students and affordable child care for parents.
• Making sure our children and educators have the support and the resources they need.
• Every student has access to certified school counselors and social workers.
• A K-12 education that helps every child learn, grow, and prepare for a wide range of higher education and career opportunities.
• Increasing the post-secondary educational opportunities available to students..

Arizona has the potential to become a global leader in the employment industries of tomorrow. We have a responsibility to ensure our students are prepared to take advantage of these opportunities. Until our children are receiving a top-notch education, we will not be able to satisfy the ever-growing needs of Arizona’s employers. It also works in the other direction — prospective employers will not commit to Arizona if they do not believe their workforce’s children will have quality local public schools to choose from.

Every parent wants their child’s future to be full of possibility and endless potential. To make that a reality, Arizona’s children need a good education that provides the tools to succeed and earn a livable wage. As your next governor, I’ll always make sure parents are involved in our children’s education. With your help, I know we can build that bright future together.

ARIZONA IS HOME

As inflation continues to raise the price of everything from gas to groceries to medicines, one thing in particular has a disproportionate impact on our state’s rising costs: housing.

Access to affordable housing is essential for building long-term prosperity, our workforce, and building strong families to ensure our kids receive a quality education. Today, the American Dream of home ownership is slipping further and further out of reach for too many. Arizona’s homelessness crisis has become a repudiation of our state’s public policies. Since 2014, the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased by nearly 500%. My first job after I got my degree in social work was working with homeless youth in Phoenix. So I understand how complex this problem is.

Whether it’s the rising cost of rent or homeownership, the lack of affordable housing, or the homelessness crisis, our leaders must tackle this challenge in a methodical, forward-looking, and compassionate manner. That’s why I’m releasing my plan to address these crucial issues. As governor, I will bring community leaders, housing advocates, local governments, and our legislature together to:

• Empower local communities to build more affordable housing
• Cut needless bureaucracy and unleash American innovation
• Protect Arizonans and address core reasons for rising housing costs
• Fix the homelessness crisis in a comprehensive manner
• Lower costs for renters and homeowners

Arizona should be the best place to live, work, and raise a family. But the only way we can achieve that goal is by working together. I have a strong track record of reaching across the aisle and getting things done. As a leader in the legislature, I worked with Republican governors to expand access to healthcare for more than 500,000 Arizonans, tackle the opioid crisis, and hold criminals accountable by working to clear the rape kit backlog. As Secretary of State, I modernized the office, fixed broken systems, battled misinformation, and navigated a once-in-a-century crisis. As governor, I’ll bring the same leadership and experience to tackling our housing crisis. I know we can get this done — together.

INCLUSIVE ARIZONA

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.

ACCOUNTABLE ARIZONA

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.

SECURE THE FREEDOM TO VOTE FOR ALL 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.

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.