Just hours before the interview was to begin, it was canceled.
The Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission backed out of the event after the television station agreed to a different interview with the Democrat.
Lake was to appear for an interview on statewide television after Hobbs declined to attend the debate. The commission organizes a question and answer session for the person who agreed to participate when a candidate agrees to a debate but doesn't.
The commission held a public hearing and rejected the request. On October 18th, Arizona PBS invited Hobbs to sit down for an interview.
The dramatic cancellation of Arizona PBS was caused by the fact that leaders at the commission did not know about it.
The commission said they were unaware of Arizona PBS' scheduled interview with Hobbs and that the station had "broke from our shared practice."
The commission is looking for a new place to host an interview with Lake.
Under state law, the commission is obligated to give candidates opportunities to speak to voters. The commission said in a released statement that they intend to make good on their commitment to transparency.
Both candidates were interviewed for 30 minutes as part of Arizona PBS.
They made back-to-back appearances on national television.
The dean of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism said that it was the news agency's responsibility to give the public access to the candidates who are running for office. Arizona PBS broadcasts from Arizona State University.
Lake said that a tradition of debates in the state was being destroyed by Hobbs.
She said that the arm is not an arm of the Democrat National Committee. She urged voters to call Crow, the Cronkite School and Arizona PBS to complain after holding up a sign with phone numbers.
A spokesman for Crow didn't respond to a request for comment.
Lake said that they should look at losing taxpayer funding for Arizona PBS.
Lake said that she was offered a 30-minute segment, but she would only agree to a 30-minute segment with the other person.
She should be kicked out if she doesn't show up with me. We will never have a debate system again if Democrats don't have to sit on the debate stage with the Republicans.
Gubernatorial candidates in Arizona have engaged in head-to-head debates for two decades, but Lake would turn the event into a spectacle ripe for mockery. There was a Republican primary debate.
The hourlong primary debate featured Lake and three challengers and was filled with back-and-forth arguments. Lake said she felt like she was in a "SNL" skit.
If she painted something unfairly or inaccurately, she should have called her out.
The Commission and PBS decided on an interview with Lake since he wouldn't be participating. Lake criticized Hobbs for avoiding the event on social media.
At a phone banking event at a Democratic field office in Mesa, students from the coalition appeared. The students held up signs and dressed up as chickens to cause a stir.
She didn't know why Arizona PBS offered her a separate interview.
She said that Arizona PBS reached out to them and that they accepted their offer. She didn't say if the format was fair after refusing to debate Lake.
She is focused on talking to the voters of Arizona. I don't want to be a part of the shouting match. I'm going to take my case to the voters.
It's not clear if the interview will happen.
The reporter contributed to the article.
Taylor Seely can be reached at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or 480-476 6116. You can follow her on social networking sites.
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The article originally appeared on the Arizona Republic.
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