Governor Katie Hobbs gives encore state of the state address in Tucson

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - It was a different kind of state of the state address in Tucson today, different from what we’ve been hearing for the past 15 years or so, where they had been more business driven, this one today was more socially driven.

Gov. Katie Hobbs delivered her first encore state of the state in Tucson, which has become a tradition.

She talked about here commitment for public education, lifting the spending cap which she says will cripple public education if it is not lifted and making sure teachers stay in the job rather than leaving the occupation. Arizona, she said, is last in the country in teacher retention.

And she he talked about her priority to spend more for public education and not so much for charter and private schools.

“The previous legislators passed a massive expansion of school vouchers that lacks accountability and will very likely bankrupt the state,” she told the crowd. “In fact, funding the expansion will cost Arizona taxpayers $1.5 billion over the next ten years.”

Governor Hobbs fits neatly into the political landscape here in southern Arizona. She’s friends with Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and now with the newly named chair of the Pima County board of supervisors, Adelita Grijalva.

“I’m really looking forward to some of the policy changes that are going to come regarding our environment, our public education and making sure we are held accountable for the things that matter and are good for Arizona,” Grijalva said.

The Governor emphasized the need to get to the border, inviting department of homeland security Alejandro Majorkis and others to tour the border with her to find solutions to the crisis there.

She’s spending millions of dollars addressing the state’s water crisis, which she called a critical moment, and releasing a report which shows the westside of Phoenix does not have a 100 year guaranteed water supply, a report which she says was hidden by the previous administration.

“My administration issued an executive order to launch the Governor’s water policy council to modernize and expand the Arizona Groundwater Management Act, " she said. “Facing our current reality, it’s time to update groundwater management tools and protect our groundwater supplies.”

She also affirmed her pro choice stance which received some of the biggest applause, saying she did not want her daughter growing up with fewer rights that she had.

She was applauded 27 times during her speech and received a standing ovation when she entered and when she ended her speech.

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