After Hailing LGBTQ . . . Radical-Left Arizona Democrat Governor Put On Spot Twice On Same Day

By DEXTER DUGGAN

PHOENIX — As June began, conservative radio talk show host James T. Harris played an audio of left-wing Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs’ juvenile-sounding voice celebrating LGBTQ-and-whatever progress in society.

Harris simulcasts on KFYI (550 AM, Phoenix) and KNST (790 AM, Tucson).

June is “Pride Month,” as the nation tends to be reminded frequently when summer begins.

Gov. Hobbs never met a gender-bender or abortionist who didn’t thrill her.

Among her insults to voters who never chose Hobbs as governor was her unconstitutional order that prosecutors cannot pursue abortion-laws violations, and that state agencies cannot promote or fund “conversion therapy” — that is, cannot encourage positive treatment to heal the seriously sexually confused — and that state-employee health insurance plans can cover “gender-affirming surgery” — that is, paying for the mutilation of defenseless, troubled people.

If one day a sexually confused state employee were to tell Hobbs that he wished he’d never been born, would Hobbs join him in commiserating that an abortionist hadn’t been available to serve his needs back then, or is that the one time an abortionist’s deeds would be deplorable?

Anyway, the first full week of June also brought developments to two acts that Hobbs had set percolating. The first went as far back as her entry into office as governor in January, 2023; the second resulted from her September, 2023, decision to bypass the state senate for required approval of her agency directors.

Hobbs had sought “inaugural fund” donations to welcome her into the governorship. The largest amount, $250,000, came from the state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, a powerhouse in more ways than one, and would have been sufficient, all by itself, to cover the intended expenses, which were a little over $200,000.

But Hobbs kept shaking and shaking the inaugural-money tree and ended up with nearly $2 million, much of which could be diverted to causes like Hobbs’ preferred political candidates for 2024.

Yet on top of this came a late donation from a for-profit firm, Sunshine Residential Homes, the state’s largest group-home business, which then received a special thank-you from the state.

The state’s largest news platform, The Arizona Republic, usually has been Hobbs’ gubernatorial cheerleader. But to its credit, the Republic kept up on this smelly inaugural-fund story.

In a June 5th post, Republic columnist Laurie Roberts — often another cheerleader for Hobbs — recalled that reporter Stacy Barchenger followed the results after “Hobbs shook down insurance companies, labor unions, homebuilders, lobbying firms, and regulated utilities, seeking donations of up to $250,000 apiece.”

Columnist Roberts continued: “Arizona is putting fewer children in group homes these days, so it was no surprise in February, 2023, when the Department of Child Safety denied a 20% rate increase to the state’s largest group-home business.

“Three days later, Sunshine Residential Homes donated $100,000 to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ ‘dark money’ operation — the one she set up under the guise of paying for her inauguration festivities,” Roberts wrote. “Three months later, Sunshine got a 30% rate increase. And this year, it got another 20% boost along with approval for more beds, further boosting company profits.”

One might wonder parenthetically if Hobbs is smart enough herself to pull off this kind of operation. But perhaps she’s at least smart enough to hire those who can. Or at least be told whom she has to hire to get the job done.

Arizona State Senate Republicans issued a news release dated June 5th, saying: “Senate Republicans are condemning Katie Hobbs after local media today revealed she spent millions in taxpayer dollars over the past year to reward a dysfunctional group home for its campaign contributions to her.

“The report exposed donations from Sunshine Residential Homes, totaling approximately $400,000, going toward the Arizona Democratic Party, Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign, as well as her inauguration fund,” the GOP release said. “In response, Hobbs’ Department of Child Safety . . . approved a nearly 60% increase in the daily rate Sunshine Residential Homes charges to care for a child.

“Sunshine Residential Homes was the only provider to receive this increase, while others were denied pay increases to home operators, and more than a dozen were terminated from the state’s system altogether,” the Republicans said.

Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, said: “Arizonans deserve to know how their elected officials are spending their money, and this case raises a major red flag with what’s happening behind closed doors on the ninth floor,” the news release said.

The ninth floor of the Executive Tower is the governor’s office.

“With the state in the middle of a budget shortfall, and with what appears to be a pay-to-play scheme now exposed, the legislature has a lot of questions we will be seeking answers to from both the governor’s office and DCS. Our citizens deserve better,” Petersen said.

Columnist Roberts wrote that reporter “Barchenger reports that [the Department of Child Safety] has been regularly denying pay increases to group home operators, citing both budgetary constraints and a desire to get kids out of group homes.”

A separate news release from Arizona Senate Republicans, also dated June 5th, said that a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that Hobbs isn’t free to bypass senate approval of her agency directors by putting them into power with different titles.

This news release noted that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a far-left Democrat like Hobbs, had said Hobbs’ tactic was acceptable — although now was disallowed by the judge.

The release began: “After months of throwing Arizona’s critical state agencies into chaos and subjecting these entities to a host of potential legal challenges, while also creating confusion for the citizens of Arizona, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled today Katie Hobbs’ scheme to circumvent the senate confirmation process for director nominations is unlawful and must be immediately reversed.

“Consistent with the United States Constitution and the laws of states across this nation, Arizona law requires its agencies to be led by senate-confirmed directors. . . . This requirement exists to preserve the liberties of Arizona’s citizens,” the release said. “Just as the governor’s veto serves as a check on legislative power, senate confirmation of agency directors serves as a necessary check on the governor’s power.

“In September of 2023, after a senate committee recommended a nominee accused of plagiarism not be confirmed, Hobbs sent a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen notifying him that she was going to evade the senate confirmation process for agency directors. . . .

“Under her ill-advised plan, blessed by Attorney General Mayes, Hobbs withdrew 13 director nominations still pending before the senate. She then reinstalled these same individuals with a fake title of ‘executive deputy directors’,” the release said.

“Based on flimsy legal reasoning, which Hobbs’ own attorney later described as ‘strange,’ Hobbs claimed these fake directors had the same power and authority as senate-confirmed directors,” the release said. “After months of discussions, she continued to insist she was above the law. As a result, President Petersen sued Hobbs.

“Today, the Hon. Scott Blaney confirmed Gov. Hobbs violated state law with her illegal scheme. Under Judge Blaney’s order, Hobbs must submit nominees to fill the supposed ‘vacancies’ created by her now-debunked strategy. The court rightly recognized that ‘the governor willfully circumvented th[e] statutory process and eliminated the legislative branch from its oversight role’.”

A state GOP senator directly involved in this controversy issued his own news release on June 5th. Sen. Jake Hoffman, chairman of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, said: “I look forward to continuing our confirmation hearings in the near future, now that much-needed clarity on the law has been provided by the courts to Hobbs and her staff.

“If Katie wishes to continue her petulant insults against me and to play petty political games, so be it; but I’m going to continue faithfully fulfilling my duty to the people of this great state to ensure that we have a sane government that works for every Arizonan,” Hoffman said.

What “works for every Arizonan” is imagery that Hobbs tries to use.