Arizonans are torn as our newly appointed Democratic governor seeks to strip away the border strike force.
Katie Hobbs, Arizona's 24th governor, was sworn into office in January of 2023 and is the first Democrat to hold the position since 2009. She replaced Republican governor Doug Ducey, infamously known for creating a temporary border wall out of shipping containers. Hobbs narrowly defeated Kari Lake, her Republican contemporary, notably known as an anchorwoman, whose views were more akin to the prior governor.
Hobbs comes at a time, in which Arizona has a much-needed change of pace. As our state has been growing, we are dealing with previously unforeseen hurdles. Last week, Hobbs announced her $17.1 billion dollar spending proposal, addressing our looming water crisis, education, and affordable housing in Arizona.
Hobbs has vowed to end a program that funds private school tuition as well, in an effort appropriate funding to our public education system and take it to the next level. Arizona has repeatedly been ranked as one of the worst public education systems in the United States year after year.
The center square reports that Hobbs wants to decrease the funding of the Border Strike Force Bureau, a division of the Arizona Department of Public Safety that has been active since 2015 courtesy of former Governor Doug Ducey, and whose mission statement reads as:
The BSF operations focus on roving criminal interdiction patrol details, intelligence-led remote area operations, outbound details, and deterrent saturation patrols to identify, deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations.
Other sources, such as KTAR news, quote Hobbs as claiming:
Right now, the Border Strike Force is not being actually being utilized at the border, so we want to coordinate those resources where they can be most helpful with the law enforcement there,” Hobbs said during a press conference.
Many Republicans think Hobbs's bill will be DOA, but only time can tell.
What do you think? Does she plan on spending our money in the right places? Will the Bill pass? Let us know in the comments!
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