Arizona governor candidates outline public safety positions
AZ governor candidates speak at police forum
Katie Hobbs and Andy Biggs detailed plans for border security and public safety funding. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has the latest.
PHOENIX - Arizona candidates for governor are not going to be debating ahead of the November election, but they both appeared at a public safety forum hosted by the Arizona Police Association.
The Aug. 25 event took place at Arizona State University's Downtown Phoenix campus.
Dig deeper:
The forum allowed both Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Andy Biggs to answer public safety-related questions one at a time. They did not share the stage at all.
Rather, it was a chance for voters to hear some of their positions on public safety without a back-and-forth interaction.
Arizona Police Association Executive Director Joe Clure said the event was set up to showcase the positions of two candidates on everything from immigration and border policing to hot topics like automatic license-plate readers.
Clure said the governor is responsible for many important decisions regarding public safety in Arizona, including the budget set for public safety agencies at the Capitol. He added that both candidates have shown in the past that they are invested in public safety for Arizonans.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) Rep. Andy Biggs (Cassidy Araiza/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
What they're saying:
The discussion ranged from border policing to recruitment and retention to pension reform. Representatives from law enforcement agencies around the state, along with elected officials at all levels of Arizona government, were in attendance.
Each had roughly 20 minutes during which they answered questions from a moderator. Rep. Biggs went first, with Gov. Hobbs following.
The first question centered around the border and how each candidate plans to keep drug trafficking and other crime from entering Arizona from the southern border.
"The first thing that I think we need to do is make sure that the Border Security Strikeforce is fully funded, fully equipped, and that we have inner agency cooperation," Biggs said. "That’s where we will begin. Second thing I’ll do is, I’ll appoint a border czar to help coordinate where they’re needed. And the third thing that I think needs to happen is we have to acknowledge that we have to have cooperation with federal agencies as well as federal law enforcement."
"This is not a Republican or Democratic issue," Hobbs said. "Arizonans want a secure border, and so I talked to law enforcement, especially in border communities. I heard from them directly, and we provided them with resources. I sent the National Guard to the border to help with drug interdiction, and we have deployed over $200 million to local law enforcement to help improve their technology, their communication, their vehicles, more staffing."
Hobbs, Biggs discuss the AZ border, Flock cameras
Governor Katie Hobbs and Congressman Andy Biggs addressed law enforcement leaders at an Arizona forum on Aug. 25 as they are months away from the 2026 election for Arizona's next governor.
By the numbers:
This forum comes one day after a HighGround Inc. poll was released showing Gov. Hobbs with a 15-point lead over Rep. Biggs. A Noble Predictive Insights poll from last week also showed a double-digit lead for the incumbent.