by Staff Reporter | Jul 13, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs has prioritized the fundraising of millions of dollars to flip the state legislature over to Democrats over the governance of the state.
According to the campaign finance records, Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign has collected over $2.6 million from 2023 through March: just over $2.1 million in 2023, and nearly $468,000 from January through March of this year.
Campaign totals from April through the present of this year weren’t yet available on the campaign finance reporting website.
Out of the over 27,800 individual contributions Hobbs’ campaign received from last year through this March, around 8,600 were from out of state.
The top donors since Hobbs took office last year include $10,800 contributions from AFSCME People, United Here PAC, UFCW Local 99 PAC, AZ CWA State Council PAC, and USAA Employee PAC.
The second-highest level of contributions were around 180 individual contributions of $5,400 donations, and about 30 individual contributions of $5,000.
Several organizations and entities also donated sums of $5,400: Moms Fed Up, Smart TD PAC, JP Morgan Chase & Co Arizona PAC, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Tohono O’Odham Nation, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, DRIVE Committee (the Political Action Committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters), Pattern Energy Group PAC, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Issues Committee, Molina Healthcare PAC, Salt River Project, Realtors of Arizona PAC, Arizona Dispensaries Association PAC, Boilermakers-Blacksmiths Leap, Amalgamated Transit Union – Cope.
Other high-level donations included the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association PAC, $5,000; Republic Services, $4,400; American Airlines PAC, $3,000; and UNS Energy Corporation PAC , $2,500; Wells Fargo; Arizona Employee PAC, $2,500; and American Property Casualty Insurance, $2,400.
Hobbs told Capitol Media Services that her position of authority created “the perfect storm” to secure the state legislature for her party.
“This is the first time we’ve been this close and had a Democratic governor,” said Hobbs. “And this is what I’m focused on this election is governing majorities who will work with me.”
Fundraising emails from the Hobbs campaign focused on securing greater legalization of abortion in the state.
Hobbs has vetoed around 200 Republican-led bills since taking office last year.
Democrats haven’t held a trifecta in nearly 60 years. The Republicans hold a slim majority in both the House and Senate: 31 out of 60 seats in the former, 16 out of 30 seats in the latter.
Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, bragged that Hobbs had collected millions in her first year as governor while her predecessor, Doug Ducey, collected only about $160,000.
The millions excludes the excess in donations (estimated over $1.5 million) to Hobbs’ much-scrutinized inauguration fund, which DeMont established as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit.
The Arizona Secretary of State has a complete list of all candidates eligible to appear on the ballot.
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by Corinne Murdock | Feb 12, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Phoenix Open crowd reportedly booed Gov. Katie Hobbs after her attendance was announced at the tournament on Wednesday.
Eyewitness accounts say the incident occurred at the Skybox stadium located on Hole 16 on Wednesday, a day before the opening day of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Hobbs was brought onto the green to greet the crowds in the stadium. A video posted later that day allegedly captured the incident.
Twitter users who claimed they were at the open claimed that Hobbs looked “dejected” after walking off the course.
Another user said that Hobbs attempted to wave at the crowd, but received boos instead.
The campaign team for Hobbs’ GOP opponent, Kari Lake, claimed that Hobbs was also booed at a recent Phoenix Suns game.
Lake asked social media users to send in their videos of the booing, with promises that they would give them credit and “help them go viral.”
Apparent dissatisfaction with Hobbs’ first days in office may be considered bipartisan.
The governor stood opposed to the favored pick to take over the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) chairmanship. Hobbs endorsed Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo; he also served on her transition team. However, top Democratic leaders and officials sponsored Yolanda Bejarano, ADP’s former vice chair. Bejarano won the election last month.
Hobbs didn’t congratulate Bejarano individually following the election; rather, the governor opted to congratulate the entirety of the new ADP board.
Prior to her swearing in, Hobbs stirred up controversy when she neglected to disclose the cost and funders behind her inauguration ceremony. It wasn’t until several days after her inauguration that the nonprofit accepting donations on her behalf for the event released the names of the donors and their amounts donated.
According to Hobbs, her “Katie Hobbs Inaugural Fund” accepted $1.9 million from about 235 donors. Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) records disputed Hobbs’ initial claim that she raised about $1.5 million from 120 donors.
The inauguration costed $207,000 — about 11 percent of total donations. This inspired questions of the purpose for the remainder of the funds as government transparency watchdogs called for investigation of whether Hobbs’ inauguration team purposefully accepted more donations than they knew were necessary.
Attorney Tim La Sota told “The Conservative Circus” that Hobbs’ use of a state website to solicit inaugural funds presented a potential legal issue.
“That’s definitely a no-no,” said La Sota. “That’s no different, hardly, than just putting a link on the governor’s official state website to her campaign account and saying, ‘Hey, you know, do you want to support me politically? Go to my campaign.’”
The inaugural fund was established as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit by Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont. That classification enables the funds to be used for any promotion of “social welfare,” per IRS rules. Under this classification, the remaining $1.7 million could potentially be applied to certain political efforts that advance “social welfare,” like lobbying.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jan 24, 2023 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The public relations and legal fallout continues after the nonprofit which accepted donations for Gov. Katie Hobbs’ public inauguration ceremony released the names of donors and the amount of each donation.
Hobbs was officially sworn in Jan. 2 during a private ceremony. She then held a public inauguration ceremony on Jan. 5. The information about who paid for that ceremony via the Katie Hobbs Inaugural Fund was finally released several days later, after attorney Tim La Sota threatened to sue Hobbs for violating public records laws.
The Katie Hobbs Inaugural Fund was registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission on Dec. 13 by Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit social welfare organization. DeMont is currently listed as the only director on ACC records.
DeMont and Hobbs have come under scrutiny for accepting $1.5 million from roughly 120 donors, including $250,000 from utility giant Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the owner of Arizona Public Service Co. (APS). But the event cost less than $210,000, according to public records.
Government transparency watchdogs are calling for an investigation into whether Hobbs’ inauguration team had a pre-event budget worked out and whether more money was intentionally accepted than needed. But La Sota says there also remains a question of whether Hobbs violated another Arizona law by using the state’s website to solicit money for her inauguration.
“That’s definitely a no-no,” La Sota told KFYI’s James T. Harris this week. “That’s no different hardly than just putting a link on the governor’s official state website to her campaign account and saying, ‘hey you know do you want to support me politically, go to my campaign.’”
La Sota also told Harris that donations to DeMont’s nonprofit reportedly entitled donors to preferred access and seating at Hobbs’ inauguration event held on public property.
Questions surrounding the inaugural fund have also led some Democrats across Arizona to express dismay, behind the scenes, that Hobbs put them in the position of having to publicly ignore the $1.5 million controversy, just years after leaders of the Democratic Party called for an investigation into the funding of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
There is also growing pushback to utility companies like APS getting so heavily involved in politics; public records show APS donated $850,000 to the failed gubernatorial campaign of Kari Lake.
APS responded to criticisms about its donation to the Katie Hobbs Inaugural Fund with a statement that the money came from shareholder funds and not from customer payments. However, the company’s image has taken a hit in the court of public opinion given the fact APS is currently seeking a rate increase.
Another large donor to the inauguration was Blue Cross Blue Shield, which anted up $100,000, as did the lobby arm of the National Association of Realtors along with Arizona Realtors. There was also $100,000 donated by Sunshine Residential Homes Inc., a for-profit company that contracts with the State of Arizona to provide some child welfare services.
The rest of the donations ranged from $10 to $50,000; several were from entities like Union Pacific, the Arizona Dispensary Association, and Salt River Project which have dealing with various state agencies.
So what happens to the $1 million plus left on the books of the nonprofit created for Hobbs inauguration?
According to the IRS, the money can be spent on anything DeMont desires, provided it falls under the very broad category of promoting social welfare within the IRS code for a 501(c)(4).
“To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements),” according to the IRS.
In addition, seeking legislation germane to the nonprofits programs is a permissible means of attaining social welfare purposes.
“Thus, a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization may further its exempt purposes through lobbying as its primary activity without jeopardizing its exempt status,” the IRS rules state.
There has been much public consternation that DeMont will use some of the inaugural fund donations for political activities. This is permissible under IRS rules provided engaging in politics is not the “primary activity” of 501(c)(4).
The only other stated restriction under IRS Code is that the political activity cannot involve “direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.”
The code makes no mention of restrictions to referendum or initiative measures that might come before voters.
Therefore, it is possible that donors to the Hobbs’ inauguration could end up seeing DeMont use their money against own their political interests.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 23, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Gov. Katie Hobbs assumed that the California mass shooting responsible for 10 deaths on the Chinese New Year was a hate crime against Asians. The suspected shooter was an Asian man, later found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a white van.
Though Hobbs apparently was unaware of the shooter’s race when she issued her Sunday morning statement, the governor assumed that the perpetrator was a non-Asian man committing a hate crime.
“These mass shootings can’t continue, and Arizona stands united with the AAPI community against hate,” wrote Hobbs.
Many pointed out that the suspected shooter was an Asian man.
GOP legislators criticized Hobbs’ response as a knee-jerk default to perceived racism.
Law enforcement issued a description of the suspected shooter on Sunday morning: a 5’10”, 150 lb Asian man, approximately 30 to 50 years old. The shooter killed 10 and wounded 10 after opening fire in a Monterey Park, California ballroom late Saturday night.
Police believe that the suspected shooter attempted to open fire at a second dance hall less than half an hour later, but those inside took the gun away from the suspect.
This isn’t the first time that Hobbs falsely claimed that a crime was motivated by hate. In October, after Hobbs’ campaign office was broken into, Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont accused the perpetrator of being a political activist radicalized by her Republican opponent, Kari Lake.
“The threats against Arizonans attempting to exercise their constitutional rights and their attacks on elected officials are the direct result of a concerted campaign of lies and intimidation,” state Hobbs.
In reality, the burglar turned out to be a 36-year-old homeless illegal immigrant.
Though Hobbs has been outspoken about crimes that were or were perceived to be racially-motivated against non-white individuals, Hobbs has remained silent on hate crimes against white individuals. Hobbs didn’t issue any public statements regarding the Christmas parade massacre that killed six in Waukesha, Wisconsin in November 2021.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 29, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Wednesday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed an appeal of her election lawsuit’s dismissal and the order to pay $33,000 to opponent Katie Hobbs for legal fees.
Lake’s lawsuit named Hobbs both personally and as secretary of state; Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer; the entire Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS); and Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett.
In an interview with “War Room” founder and host Steve Bannon this past week, Lake claimed that the election was stolen from her by shadow figures bent on keeping cartels active, the border open, and inflation high. Lake said that Hobbs will merely be a “puppet” for these forces.
“The voters went to the ballot box in November because they’re fed up. The only way to stop me from stopping the cartels was to steal an election,” said Lake. “This state is going to go to hell in a handbasket if Katie Hobbs is allowed to take control.”
Lake further claimed that Hobbs was in on this alleged collusion
“Hobbs has absolutely no respect for the law. I can’t even believe she didn’t recuse herself from this botched election.” said Lake. “She didn’t even campaign, she didn’t debate, she hid from people, hid in her basement, had no policy, because she knew that she could rig the election and walk into office.”
Lake appealed to the Division 1 Court of Appeals. Lake has promised previously that she would take her case up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
READ THE NOTICE OF APPEAL HERE
The Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed Lake’s lawsuit on Christmas Eve. Maricopa County defendants and Hobbs filed for $696,000 collectively in sanctions on Monday. However, the court denied most of the sanctions on Tuesday, only awarding Hobbs’ team $33,000 in fees. Judge Peter Thompson clarified that Lake’s claims of election misconduct or fraud weren’t groundless or presented in bad faith, contrary to what Maricopa County argued in its sanctions request.
In response to the superior court’s dismissal, both Hobbs and BOS Chair Bill Gates issued press releases celebrating the win.
Hobbs campaign manager, Nicole Demont, issued a statement on her behalf. DeMont said that the judge affirmed what Arizona voters chose last month, not “the conspiracy-riddled, dark corners of the Internet” that voted for Lake. Hobbs earned over 1.28 million votes to Lake’s 1.27 million votes: a difference of 17,100 votes.
Gates said the ruling signaled a win for democracy. He stated that Lake’s lawsuit was a “made-for-TV tirade” absent any facts or evidence.
“Arizona courts have made it clear that frivolous political theater meant to undermine elections will not be tolerated,” wrote Gates.
Lake doesn’t appear to have the backing of some of the GOP’s national leadership. Embattled RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel told Newsmax that Lake lost because she ran a poor campaign, and that Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward also facilitated the loss.
“You had one candidate saying, ‘If you’re a McCain voter, get the hell out of my rallies.’ And then the McCain voters said, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to vote for you,” said McDaniel.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
