As newly elected Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs begins her tenure, a former Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake, once again, is demanding her removal.
Hobbs Did Not Proposed Any Mandate on Use of Pronouns
Last Monday, a statement from the Twitter account associated with Kari Lake’s campaign re-iterated the call for impeachment against Governor Hobbs, following her signing of an executive order demanding the usage of personal pronouns in Arizona classrooms.
The statement called the order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Lake also commented on the situation, saying “It’s disheartening that our predictions have come true and that Arizona citizens were aware of it all along.”
“However, the point that citizens were refused a fair and equal election process to prevent this from happening is even more demoralizing. Can we truly feel victorious as we watch our state deteriorate in this manner?”
As Governor Hobbs has not proposed any mandate on the usage of personal pronouns, a new bill being proposed by the Republican Party in the Arizona Congress aims to ban teachers from calling their students their chosen pronouns without the consent of their parents.
Governor Hobbs has legal authority to veto the bill if it passed.
Opinion from the Arizona Republic Editorial Board: Gov. Katie Hobbs sent a strong signal that she will champion traditional public schools while holding charter and private schools more accountable.https://t.co/lb3p7zkjdv
— azcentral (@azcentral) January 10, 2023
While Governor Hobbs has been in office for an entire week, her rival in the election still refuses to accept the results, continuing to assert she instead won the election. However, Governor Hobbs secured her win, earning a 17,000 vote margin.
Lake has taken her case to the judicial system, lodging a lawsuit alleging that fraud influenced the outcome of the midterm elections to her disadvantage.
However, a judge from Maricopa County dismissed the case last month, stating the testimony of each of the witnesses presented in the trial that lasted for two days disproved Lake’s accusations of irregularity in the election process.
Lake Continues to Push Forward
Despite her appeal, legal experts have stated to Newsweek there is little chance of success; yet, Lake continues to push forward in her fight.
As previously noted by Neama Rahmani, retired federal prosecutor and head of Trial Lawyers of West Coast, “Governor Hobbs has already taken her oath. Lake’s appeal will take quite some time, if not months to be resolved.”
Outgoing Republican Arizona Governor wrote this to his Democratic successor, Katie Hobbs: t/y @abc15 pic.twitter.com/tXktLjK8Z8
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 3, 2023
Governor Hobbs addressed the state legislature during her first speech to the state on Monday, possibly taking a jibe at Lake’s actions.
The new governor of Arizona stated that “pursuing conspiracy theories, advancing causes for specific groups, diminishing the liberties of others, or trying to deteriorate our freedom further will not be fruitful.”
Hobbs declared the formation Task Force for Educator Retention to work on “reducing class sizes, provision of resources, improving conditions at work and addressing other crucial factors” that affect the teachers in Arizona.
This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.
