Katie Hobbs outsmarted Kari Lake, again, with her private swearing-in ceremony

Sometimes, for private reasons, a couple looking to get married will choose to tie the knot quietly at a courthouse in front of a judge, and then hold a less official, more public wedding ceremony and reception for family and friends at a later date.

Essentially, that is how Katie Hobbs became Arizona’s 24th governor.

She took the oath of office on Monday in a private ceremony, along with newly elected Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes, Treasurer Kimberly Yee, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and state Mine Inspector Paul Marsh.

The event was livestreamed, with extremely limited press access. It didn’t last long. The entire process began shortly after 10 a.m. and ended about a half hour later.

Not wanting to give Lake 'a bigger stage'

I have lived in Arizona for a very long time, and while I am not a historian, that may have been the most efficient and least costly official government function that has occurred in our state … ever.

And it’s not like there won’t be an opportunity for Arizona citizens to enjoy some inaugural festivities. There is a public inauguration event scheduled for Thursday at the State Capitol.Even so, the long knives came out for Hobbs.

What to watch for:As Katie Hobbs takes power

As a candidate she was vilified by critics (including me) for not being willing to go head-to-head with her conspiracy-crazed Trump-sycophant opponent Kari Lake. At the time, Hobbs told CNN, “You know, not only is Kari Lake – has she centered her entire platform around this election denialism, I didn’t want to give her a bigger stage to do that. She has shown that she’s not interested in any kind of substantive conversation, she’s only interested in creating a spectacle.”That last part it true.

Hobbs wasn't hiding, she was outsmarting

Lake was only interested – and is still only interested – in creating a spectacle. She continues pursuing ridiculous election fraud claims in court while cozying up to Trump and his retinue of fawning lackeys at Mar-a-Lago.

Even so, Hobbs received a lot of criticism for not taking her oath of office in a public setting, as if she was turning her back on the citizens who elected her, or cowardly going underground.

But that’s not it.

Hobbs wasn’t hiding, she was outsmarting.

Holding her swearing in ceremony in private – available only on a livestream – was a cagey way for Hobbs to outfox the maddened minions of a disgruntled losing candidate.

It’s possible that some of Lake’s supporters will try to disrupt the inauguration event scheduled for Thursday. But doing so won’t change things. No matter what the sadly brainwashed believers in Lake’s paranoid fantasies choose to do, it cannot alter the transition of power that already has taken place.

There’s no way to stave off a wedding, after all, if the couple is already hitched.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Katie Hobbs outsmarted Kari Lake, again, with private swearing-in