An Arizona Republican Senator criticized Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs over the weekend for her lack of making a real difference for Arizona citizens as Governor by making a “too late” declaration of an extreme heat state of emergency.
State Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) says that Hobbs’ emergency heat declaration is nothing more than a too-late publicity stunt.
“We’ve been under Excessive Heat Warnings, issued by the National Weather Service for more than six weeks now. Yet on one of our cooler days of the summer so far, Katie Hobbs caved to media pressure and issued a reactive Executive order declaring a “heat state of emergency.” for as long as I’ve lived in Arizona, I can’t recall a Governor ever doing this before. Frankly, it’s too little, too late, Katie. Where were you a month ago?” Kern said.
Kern proceeded to say that Hobbs’ is clueless about how to govern the state of Arizona so she continues to issue pointless, politically motivated executive actions.
“With literally no agenda for this state and absolutely no clue how to govern, she continues to issue her do-nothing executive actions that are merely just “smoke and mirrors.” We live in a desert. We knew it was going to get hot in July,” Kern said.
According to Kern, none of Hobbs’ actions are making a real difference for Arizona citizens. He implores the Governor to work alongside the Legislature to make some positive changes for the state.
“Just work with the Legislature to make a real difference for our citizens,” Kern said.
Earlier this month Hobbs declared the extreme heat emergency 12 days after Phoenix’s longest heat wave on record had already ended.
During the heat wave in July, the state did not provide resources to local governments or organizations. According to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, they recorded approximately 300 suspected heat deaths during that time.
According to Hobbs and her chief of staff, Chad Campbell, a declaration of an emergency “was on the table” but wasn’t yet necessary in early July and early August.
Hobbs claimed that her executive order would address extreme heat moving forwards.
“I declared a State of Emergency and signed an Executive Order to support heat relief efforts while addressing extreme heat moving forward. Arizona is resilient, and I will ensure we have the tools we need to stay safe and continue growing sustainably,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs’ declaration provided limited immediate relief for those individuals who are most susceptible to heat related illnesses such as reimbursement of city and county heat-related expenses and the opening of two new cooling centers near the state Capitol.
The Arizona Sun Times reached out to Kern for additional comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “State Sen Anthony Kern” by Anthony Kern and “Extreme Heat” is by John Biehler CC-NC-SA-2.0.
