Hobbs picks current team member to be chief of staff

After picking a Republican business leader and a Democratic state capitol veteran to lead her transition team, Secretary of State and Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs looked closer to home for her chief of staff.

On Monday, Hobbs announced that Allie Bones, the current Assistant Secretary of State, will take on the top job in her administration.

Bones was in the Secretary of State’s office for the 2020 election, which became a central part of the 2022 gubernatorial campaign, and she’s also a veteran of former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano’s administration.

In 2020, Hobbs “worked closely with Ms. Bones to administer a historically safe and secure election in Arizona,” according to a news release sent by the Hobbs campaign. The election and its aftermath, which brought death threats to Hobbs and her team over unfounded allegations of widespread fraud, marked a dramatic shift in Arizona politics and helped raise Hobbs’ profile before she announced her run for the governor’s office.

Bones and Hobbs are both social workers and met in 2001 while working in support of domestic violence survivors, the news release added. Bones was also the chief executive of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence and worked for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. In Napolitano’s administration, she worked on domestic violence.

Bones is the second Napolitano alum Hobbs has tapped for her team, after naming Mike Haener as co-chair of her transition team last week.

“From working to ensure secure elections to providing support for our local businesses, with Allie on my team, we’ve always gotten the job done,” Hobbs said in the news release.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve Governor-Elect Hobbs and our great state in this role. As Arizonans face historic crises in our economy, health care access, and education system, it’s more important than ever to come together and make our government work for everyone,” Bones said.