An easy form of government transparency

After one month, only Kathy Hoffman and Katie Hobbs have turned over their calendars since January.

If you want to skip ahead all of the calendars included in this post are linked at the bottom.

For some reason, no statewide elected officials in Arizona voluntarily release their calendars to the press or public at large, so ideally Fourth Estate 48 will be the outlet to publish everyone’s calendars for the year –– month-by-month.

We don’t live in an ideal world.

Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Mark Kelly all sent out public schedules every day so you know what they are up to (with some limitations) as you should since we the people are actually the bosses of the politicians we elect.

Senator Mark Kelly @SenMarkKelly

If we're going to fix what's broken in Washington, we need more transparency and accountability in Congress. That's why I'm releasing my Senate schedule on our office's website so that Arizonans can see how I'm working for them.

azcentral.comSen. Mark Kelly announces key hires in Senate office, begins releasing weekly scheduleSen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is bringing on several staffers who have worked with his wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

I requested three separate calendar requests since I launched on August 10.

1. January through June 2022 calendars

2. July 2022 calendars

3. August 2022 calendars (I made this request last week)

I sent them to Governor Doug Ducey, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Mark Brnovich, State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell for elected officials. Department of Administration Director Andy Tobin, Department of Public Safety Director Heston Silbert, Department of Corrections Director David Shinn, Department of Health Services interim Director Don Herrington and Department of Economic Security Director Michael Wisehart.

Hobbs and Hoffman blew expectations out of the water. Not only were they the only two to fully comply with the original August 10 request, but both offices handed over their August calendars TWO DAYS after I requested them.

Department of Corrections was actually the first response for July’s calendar, but has not fulfilled anything else.

The rest? Nothing.¹

Calendars don’t usually have much to them, but it’s just a simple aspect of government transparency to know what elected officials and appointed bureaucrats are up to each day, week and month.

Capitol Media Services 📢 Telling it like it is @azcapmedia

Yet another @DougDucey event not on any calendar to give the media a chance to catch up with him about what he has -- and has not -- been doing about COVID and other issues..... (Do you hear me, .@karamargin???)

Doug Ducey @DougDucey

Grateful to attend the Arizona Law Enforcement and Prosecutors Conference today to recognize the unwavering commitment of our law enforcement officers and prosecutors who keep us safe and protect our individual liberties. https://t.co/NtS63MaMFN

Browse through the calendars and see if you notice anything. I’ll be making more of these posts every month and will publish them in bunches.

Kathy Hoffman’s calendars

Katie Hobbs’ calendars

David Shinn’s July 2022 calendar

1. I find it very hard to believe turning over a monthly calendar, when I told them all I’d be making the same request at the beginning of every month, should take longer than one month to turn over. Even with redactions. Really, it shouldn’t take longer than 7-10 days.