Maria Elena Cruz, an Arizona Court of Appeals judge from Yuma, is Gov. Katie Hobbs' first appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios
Maria Elena Cruz is Gov. Katie Hobbs' first appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court, a pick that earned praise from both sides of the political aisle.
Catch up quick: Before her appointment yesterday, Cruz was a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals.
She became a Cocopah Indian Tribal Court judge in 2005 and was elected to the bench in Yuma County Superior Court in 2008.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey appointed her to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 2017.
1 big milestone: Cruz is the first Latina and first Black person to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court, and she noted she's only the sixth woman justice.
What they're saying: Hobbs called her "eminently qualified" and said she "reflects our state and who is committed to making our legal system work for everyday people."
Between the lines: Though Cruz is a Democratic judge appointed by a Democratic governor, Hobbs noted she had bipartisan backing, pointing to letters of support from both Democrats and Yuma County Republicans.
Cruz told reporters at a press conference yesterday she has bipartisan support because people in her community have seen the work she's done, saying: "I think it's just an expression of people's confidence in the work that I have done. I have never been a very political person."
Phil Townsend, a former Yuma County GOP chair who served on the state's Commission on Appellate Court Appointments when Cruz was selected as a Court of Appeals finalist, told Axios she has a reputation as a centrist.
"I think she is a very safe pick. She's not a person who's going to have an agenda. I think she will be a justice that really looks at the cases on an individual basis and makes a decision," Townsend said.
