Governor Katie Hobbs’ State of the State Address

In this one-hour special, Governor Katie Hobbs kicked off the legislative session with her annual State of the State Address.

Watch her speech in its entirety, then review expert analysis as “Arizona Horizon” host Ted Simons speaks with local political consultants Chuck Coughlin, President and CEO of HighGround Inc., and Karl Gentles, Partner in the Gentles Agency.

“Let us all come together in denouncing the horrific violence that is poisoning our politics,” Hobbs said, “…the tide of political violence must come to an end.”

Governor Katie Hobbs opened her State of the State address by recognizing the assassinations of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk. She emphasized the need to end political violence, while also recognizing the amount of work that must be done throughout Arizona.

“That we would be a bastion of security, opportunity, and freedom,” Hobbs said, “…for whoever is willing to come here, work hard and make a good life for themselves and their families.

Hobbs had made lots of strides last year to help improve the state, including creating tens of thousands of jobs and erasing millions of dollars in medical debt for nearly half a million Arizonans. She also lowered the cost of child care, prescription drugs, and housing to support working families.

“We are the best place to start and grow a business,” Hobbs said, “…we also can’t discuss the economic success of the last year without mentioning the largest foreign direct investment in our country’s history. Arizona is proud to have TSMC located right here in Phoenix.”

Hobbs also discussed implementing a $200 million tax cut for hardworking Arizona families, emphasizing her main goal for the year being affordability.

“We can put more money in the pockets of Arizona families,” Hobbs said, “…money that will help them put food on the table, care for their children, and pay for their utility bills.”

Also mentioned in the state of the state, Hobbs explained how it is her mission to find solutions to make Arizona’s government more efficient and effective.

“Here in Arizona, we’re going to do things our way, and we’re going to do them better because Washington has failed us,” Hobbs said, “…but we will not fail our fellow Arizonans.”

‘Arizona Horizon’ host Ted Simons spoke with political consultants Karl Gentles and Chuck Coughlin about the state of the state address.

“If I had to bullet down to three words it’d be affordability, affordability, and affordability,” Gentles discussed, “…she’s very optimistic…the harder stuff will happen downstream during legislation.”

Both Gentles and Coughlin emphasized how Hobbs has improved over the years as a governor, as they both agree this is a good start for the legislative session.

“She’s a much better speech deliverer today…she’s much more comfortable in her skin,” Coughlin said, “…checked off all the boxes, she had some affordability issues…she had some water issues that she talked about.”