It was a year of change in Arizona politics.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs entered the Executive Tower and brought along a new dynamic with the Republican majority legislature, long used to working with a Republican administrations.
House Speaker Ben Toma sat down with The Center Square to reflect on the past year, as well as look forward to the future. Toma succeeded former House Speaker Rusty Bowers in January, previously serving as the majority leader for Republicans.
Overall, the Republican said the year brought along various wins for his caucus, including on the negotiated budget that Hobbs signed in May.
"From a Republican perspective, it's not a stretch to say it was just a big win all the way around. We got a budget that was structurally balanced, which was a big deal. We've got some of our priorities through that was a big deal. Members individually got their priorities through, you know, not all of us have to agree that all those priorities are great," he said. "But the point is that each member got priorities for their district. And that was a huge win."
The speaker added that the state's economy continues to make significant progress compared to where it was during the Great Recession, even though the executive has seen a party change.
"It's been a decade-plus of Republican administration that have got us past and changed our economy from what it was in the Great Recession," he said.
We're in a really good place actually, and so being able to protect those making it or keeping it still a good environment to start a business, to grow, to expand, I think is a huge win in the long term," Toma added in regards to how the economy has diversified in recent years.
However, the speaker said there are certain policy areas, such as housing and water, that he would like to see more heavily emphasized in the next session.
"As you know, in the real world, I'm a real estate broker, and for the first time ever we're above the national median price for homes in the valley. And that's really for the first time ever. It's usually been a place where people can come to Arizona and get relatively low-cost housing. Well, that's no longer the case," Toma said. "That's a serious problem, especially for first-time home buyers."
