Gov. Katie Hobbs still hasn't come clean on her inauguration fund

“Voters have a right to know who’s trying to influence the outcome of an election.”

That was Katie Hobbs, during her 2017 run for secretary of state.

I wonder if she also believes voters have a right to know who’s trying to influence a governor? And just how much influence they might have?

The saga of Gov. Hobbs’ curious inauguration fundraiser continues, a cash-grab that was both lucrative and, as it turns out, secretive.

How much did 70 donors give? We don't know

It now appears that Hobbs raised at least $1.9 million for her $207,000 inauguration – not the $1.5 million she previously claimed, according to an analysis by The Arizona Republic’s Stacey Barchenger.

And that really, 235 lobbyists, businesses and others donated to her big day, not 120 disclosed after weeks of public pressure.

Republic analysis:$270K missing from Hobbs' inauguration disclosure

We still don’t know how much 70 of those 235 donors kicked in to cozy up to the governor.

In all, Barchenger reports that Hobbs hasn’t accounted for the source of at least $270,000 of the money she raised for her inauguration.

This from the governor who during last year’s campaign told us, “I’m running for governor to deliver transparency, accountability and results for Arizona.”

On that front, she’s off to a rough start.

Public deserves a full accounting of the cash

While governors always have raised money to help defray the cost of their inaugurations, Hobbs is the first to keep the leftover cash. Usually, it’s moved into a public protocol fund, to be used for public purposes.

Hobbs, instead, established a nonprofit account where the money can be used to fund political campaigns. A state government website was employed and now mum’s the word on how she intends to spend the $1.6 million or more in leftover funds.

I don’t know if she is Gov. Machiavelli or Gov. Clodhopper. Either way, it's bad way to start.

Whatever Hobbs’ plan is for the gifted cash, the public deserves a complete and transparent accounting of precisely who gave what and how much.

We know, for example, that Arizona Public Service alone handed over $250,000 to Hobbs’ “dark money” nonprofit after being hit up for a donation by her inaugural committee.

But how much did the Arizona Federation of Teachers kick in? Or the Arizona Multi-Housing Association or Waste Management? How much did that one-time dark money maestro Sean Noble and his Compass Strategies pony up? Or Southwest Gas?

Hobbs promises to be “a champion for everyone” but my guess is that, as with all politicians, some “champions” will have more access and influence than others.

Shouldn’t we know who they are?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Katie Hobbs promised transparency. She's not showing it