By The Time I Get To Arizona: I Am On The AZ Gov-Elect’s Transition Team.
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“I’m countin’ down to the day deservin’
Fittin’ for a king
I’m waitin’ for the time when I can
Get to Arizona” — By The Time I Get To Arizona by Public Enemy
Gov-Elect, of the great state of Arizona, Katie Hobbs called me at 9:25 AM on November 16th, 2022. I will not lie; I was over the moon that she would call me. I don’t view myself as important or impactful. I am not a kingmaker, and people do not make a pilgrimage to my office to kiss my ring. I have a pre-teen daughter, and my mom is in her late 80s; these two throw so much shade that my ego or sense of self-importance is sufficiently constrained. That is why I can’t believe that the Governor-Elect, who had just proclaimed her victory less than an hour earlier, called me.
I had watched my friends and other folks involved in the struggle celebrate this incredible victory with her when she declared her victory over Kari Lake. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with their smiling faces and tears of joy flowing freely. It was something to celebrate: we had defeated that last election denier running for Governor in our nation. We barely beat back Trumpism.
25 Minutes after the live feed went dark, my phone rang: Katie Hobbs flashed on my screen. I was excited. She called and thanked me for my service to her and the Party. Her voice was bright. I could feel her smile. I was speaking fast. I was excited. I congratulated her a thousand times.
My wife heard the phone ring and deciphered that I was talking to the next Governor of Arizona. She came out of her office and was there when Governor-Elect Hobbs asked me to be one of the 32 people on her transition team. I said yes and thank you, and I blacked out. I remember my wife standing before me, crying tears of joy. She called me back and told me to keep it a secret until they told the world. It was an agonizing week!
A couple of days later, I got an email from one of the co-chairs of the transition team. Our first meeting was this past Tuesday. The email was addressed to all of us, but we could see each other’s emails, not our names. So I started going through each person’s email to learn more…