Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs delivered her State of the State address on Monday afternoon. As she kicks off her second year in office, she's sitting down with ABC15's Nick Ciletti for a one-on-one interview, addressing everything from education to affordable housing and how to manage Arizona's precious water supply.
She's opening up about the drama surrounding the Lukeville Port of Entry closure, which re-opened after a month-long shutdown on January 4, and how she says the federal government could be doing more to help out.
Watch the full sitdown interview between Hobbs and ABC15 in the player below:
During our conversation with Gov. Hobbs, we asked if she was worried that Customs and Border Protection officials may shut down the port again in order to shift resources.
"I think that's a very valid question," she said. "We don't know what the long-term plans are, and we are going to continue to work as hard as we can to keep the lines of communication open so we are not caught off-guard by something like this again."
Gov. Hobbs says when news broke that the Lukeville Port would need to shut down, her office received very little notice from the federal government -- in fact, she says she's still waiting for answers from the Biden Administration when it comes to her request for the President to mobilize the National Guard at the southern border.
Nick Ciletti: What do you make of that?
Gov. Hobbs: They're in a tough situation - I know that. I know that there are workforce issues across the board with the folks that work at the border, but Arizona needs to be prioritized because the impact on our community is from this influx of legal migration and it is not sustainable - so we need to call on them respond and provide the resources we need.
Ciletti: What grade would you give Pres. Biden on his handling of the border?
Gov. Hobbs: I would say based on the level of communication - we communicate with them every day, but we are not necessarily getting information about specific, big decisions that are being made like moving personnel and closing the port of entry - on that specifically, I would say an F.
Ciletti: So you'd give him a failing grade on moving actual resources to the border?
Gov. Hobbs: Yeah, and listening to us about the impact that their decisions will have on our communities and state.
Ciletti: How frustrating is that as a governor of a border state?
Gov. Hobbs: It's incredibly frustrating - this issue has been politicized for decades. I came into this office with the promise I wouldn't politicize it. We will listen to our community and respond however we could to address those needs - but we can't do it alone. And we shouldn't do it alone. This is a federal responsibility and we need them to be responsive.
Without a federal response on sending National Guard troops to Arizona's southern border, Governor Hobbs issued an executive order herself on December 15, mobilizing the National Guard – but what they can do is limited.
Ciletti: Are you planning to keep the National Guard in place?
Gov. Hobbs: Yeah, the National Guard is there now, working with state, county, and local law enforcement. They are under state orders, not federal orders, so they're not actually doing any functions at the port of entry, but their function is really critical. It's assisting with drug interdiction and other community security needs. And so we are going to continue to assess the situation.
Ciletti: Looking back, do you wish you would have deployed the National Guard sooner?
Gov. Hobbs: No. I think what we wanted to do was have the federal government deploy them because they could directly assist at the ports of entry and hopefully, it would have gotten Lukeville opened more quickly - that wasn't the case - we worked with the resources and tools we had at our disposal.
ABC15 did reach out to the White House for comment but so far, we have not heard back.
Governor Katie Hobbs unveiled her goals for the upcoming year during her State of the State address on Monday afternoon.
"The state of the state is very strong," said Gov. Hobbs. "And I am excited to deliver that message to Arizonans. That being said, we have a lot of work to do - there are some tough challenges that Arizonans elected me to tackle and arguably, our legislature, to tackle as well. So I am hopeful we can work together to get those things done."
And the areas likely to get that bipartisan support Gov. Hobbs is hoping for are border security and tackling the fentanyl crisis. Gov. Hobbs says she's being forced to act where the federal government will not.
Ciletti: Do you feel like the federal government doesn't have Arizona's back when it comes to the border?
Gov. Hobbs: I can't speak to their motives, but what I can say is that I am going to do everything I can to make sure our needs are addressed. And make sure they are communicated to them in Washington.
According to her office, Gov. Hobbs is asking the legislature for continued funding for the newly created Border Security office, $5 million for DPS to help intercept fentanyl in Arizona's border towns, and $2 million for the Department of Health Services to provide Arizona first responders with life-saving Narcan.
When it comes to our state's water woes, Gov. Hobbs touted her administration's cancellation of the Fondomonte lease last year and vowed not to renew three other water leases when they expire next month. She also wants the legislature to close water-use loopholes for certain developers.
Ciletti: Our state is growing so much. How do you balance that - the need to grow and support but also the need to preserve our water?
Gov. Hobbs: We have an obligation to make sure trust land is used to the highest benefit to the beneficiary. Agriculture, especially generational farmers, who have been here for decades are really important, not just to the state, but also to the food security of the nation. We are growing a lot of produce in Yuma that can't be grown in other parts of the country. That's really critical. We will make sure we protect that. And we can - if we are putting in place reforms - that protect groundwater and allow communities to have a say in how it's used...we are using less water now than we were in 1950 and that's with exponential population growth. It just takes some (willingness) to make some tough choices to do that and to make sure special interests win the day.
Gov. Hobbs and her office also unveiled last week a laundry list of ways to slash expenses in the school voucher or ESA program, including steps to add more accountability. But the governor admits it will be an uphill battle to get the Republican-led legislature to sign off on the entire wish list.
Ciletti: Are there pieces that are more valuable than others? In other words, if you have to compromise and let some things go, that for you are non-negotiables when it comes to ESA reform.
Gov. Hobbs: I think we laid out a menu of options that could be implemented as a whole or individually and I'd be supportive of any of those being in a final package.
When it comes to Arizona's affordable housing crisis, something ABC15 has covered extensively in our Priced Out series, Gov. Hobbs wants to do a number of things, including $4 million for more down payment assistance and mortgage interest relief for qualifying families, low-cost loans for low- and middle-income Arizonans in rural communities, and $3 million from the General Fund to develop middle-income and rural housing needs.
Ciletti: Is it enough though? To help Arizonans that are hurting right now?
Gov. Hobbs: That's a really good question and I hear every day from Arizonans that despite how great our economy is doing, they're not feeling it, so we need to provide relief and we will continue to look for ways to do that. We didn't get to this point overnight and we won't get out of it overnight but this will go a long way towards helping Arizonans who need that.
Gov. Hobbs also outlined a new plan to lower prescription drug costs for Arizonans, including putting a cap on prices for insulin and other popular medications. She's also pushing for more accountability when it comes to licensing healthcare facilities.
