Republican politician
serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona
since 2015. He was previously the CEO of
Cold Stone Creamery, a chain of ice cream
parlors based in Scottsdale, Arizona. A
member of the Republican Party, Ducey was
Arizona state treasurer from 2011 to 2015.
On November 4, 2014, he was elected to the
governorship; he took office on January 5,
2015. He was reelected in 2018. Ducey's
fellow Republican governors elected him
chair of the Republican Governors
Association for 2021 and co-chair in 2022.
Ducey is term-limited and ineligible to seek
a third term as governor. An effort to
recall Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) was
launched on February 11, 2021. Supporters of
the recall had until June 11, 2021, to
collect 594,111 signatures to require a
recall election. No signatures were filed
with the secretary of state's office by the
deadline. Recall supporters criticized Ducey
over violating his oath of office.
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey refused to say Thursday if transgender people actually exist, twice dodging direct questions on the subject just a day after he signed legislation limiting transgender rights.
The Republican worked instead to defend his signatures on bills that bar transgender girls and women from playing on girls high school and women's college sports teams and barring gender affirming surgery for anyone under age 18.
When specifically asked if he believed that there “are really transgender people,” the governor paused for several seconds before answering.
[ . . . ]
Asked again if he believed there are “actual transgender people,” he again answered slowly and carefully.
“I ... am going to respect everyone, and I’m going to respect everyone’s rights. And I’m going to protect female sports. And that’s what the legislation does,” Ducey said.
Ducey's response was “appalling,” according to the Arizona director of the Human Rights Campaign, a national civil rights group that advocates for equality for LGBTQ people. The organization worked to ensure families and transgender young people came to the Capitol to testify against the bills as the Republican-led House and Senate considered them this session.
"Gov. Doug Ducey and his
wealthy special interest
pals were absolutely
gleeful last week when
the voter-approved
education initiative
known as the Invest in
Education Act was
overturned. Ducey & Co.
worked overtime to
ensure that nearly $900
million in additional
education dollars will
never reach our
classrooms and that our
tragic underfunding of
special education
programs, our
bottom-of-the-barrel
per-pupil funding, and
our teacher shortage
crisis continue. But
it’s important for
Arizonans to understand
that schoolchildren and
teachers are not the
only ones adversely
affected by this
decision. Our state
constitution and the
right of all Arizona
citizens to create
policy via the ballot
has been greatly
diminished, as well."
"Gov. Doug Ducey could
learn something from
Sen. Mitt Romney and
Rep. Liz Cheney, who
spoke out against an
Arizona politician who
pals around with white
nationalists."
"Doug Ducey spent $500,000 to help elect Wendy Rogers — a lawmaker who’s making common cause with overt racists. He’s apparently just fine with that decision."
Rolling Stone - Feb. 25, 2022
"Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was questioned Thursday about his efforts to get Wendy Rogers elected to the state senate in 2020, and whether he has any regrets in light of how Rogers has been promoting white nationalist causes.
Arizona Mirror reporter Jeremy Duda asked the Republican governor his thoughts on Rogers during an event where Ducey announced a scholarship program for the state’s foster children.
“Are you still happy with that investment? Do you believe that was a good decision?” Duda asked, referring to the governor’s independent expenditures giving half a million dollars to Rogers’ campaign"...
"Gov. Doug Ducey won’t
repeat last year’s
virtual State of the
State despite rising
COVID-19 numbers and
will instead give his
final address in-person
at the Arizona House of
Representatives."
"More than 350 pages of
emails show how the
Governor's Office worked
behind the scenes to
make sure licensing
boards were set up to
embrace universal
licensing, including
dictating wording on web
sites."
"The referendum is
simple enough. It asks
voters whether they want
to ratify or reject the
plan approved earlier
this year by the
Republican-controlled
legislature to scrap the
current state income tax
system, with brackets
and tax rates based on
earnings, and replace it
with a 2% flat tax, a
rate lower than any that
now exist. By
definition,
the people currently
paying the highest tax
rates — 4.5% — will get
the biggest benefit."
"For three months in
2020, Arizona taxpayers
fronted the bill of
nearly $10,000 so Gov.
Doug Ducey could
campaign for President
Trump and Vice President
Pence."
"Gov. Doug Ducey looks
woefully uninformed by
blocking a university
vaccine mandate that
does not exist. Did he
even read what ASU's
policy actually says?"
"Ducey should have long
ago condemned the
lunatic exercise that's
been going on at the
state fairgrounds and
the Republicans behind
it. But that would take
guts."
Things must be going
well in Arizona, seeing
as you have extra time
to author an op-ed
column celebrating what
you think is an exodus
to your state from
California.
You criticized the
state, writing "the
Golden State’s luster
wore off some time ago"
and listed some of its
challenges. "These
outcomes don’t happen by
accident. They are the
result of misguided
policies and misplaced
priorities.
Overregulation.
Ever-increasing taxes.
Nonstop political
correctness."
The op-ed boasts how
Arizona gained nearly
130,000 new residents
while California lost
nearly 70,000.
While I know
California's not
perfect, Gov. Ducey,
I've got my own numbers
I'd like to share.
For starters, as a
former ice cream chain's
CEO, you must agree that
the firm with the most
customers is also most
popular, right? So I
want to remind you that
California has more than
five times the
population of Arizona —
(https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=C3Zr)
39.4 million to your 7.4
million.
Of course, the
businessman in you would
certainly say that
customer retention is
key to any organization.
Did you know, governor,
when looking at census
migration data based on
population size, the
typical Arizonan was 40%
more likely to leave for
another state than a
Californian? (https://bit.ly/2UFyryT)
Your state's 2019 exits
(the latest stats
available) equaled 2.4
departures per 100,000
people vs. 1.7% in the
Golden State. By the
way, only three states
beat the Golden State at
this retention rate.
You
also suggest in your
op-ed that California is
bad for business. Well,
many Golden Staters see
our laws as good for
workers. The truth is
the states are "even
Steven" when it comes to
job creation. Arizona
bosses in the (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=C41f)
2010s added one-fifth as
many jobs as California
employers. That amounted
to 500,000 workers in
the decade vs. 2.7
million in California.
On a percentage basis,
the states' hiring was
tied at 17%.
Perhaps more telling:
Arizona's employers pay
three-quarters of the
average California
paycheck — (https://bit.ly/3vwwGFo)
or $56,000 compared with
$76,000, respectively.
Yes, Arizona's cost of
living is 17% lower than
California's, (https://bit.ly/3vPsK2y)
based on the federal
price parity indexes.
But most California
workers take a pay cut
when relocating to
Arizona.
To be fair, governor,
I'll agree that
California's home prices
are double Arizona's.
(https://bit.ly/3qX2waG)
By Zillow's valuations,
it's $618,000 vs.
$309,500. But that's not
simply a byproduct of
state policy you
disagree with. When you
ran Cold Stone Creamery,
did you see the chain'
high-end ice cream
concoctions as
premium-priced, luxury
items or the result of
poor management?
Also, Arizona deserves
congratulations that
your job market fared
much better than
California in the past
year. Arizona lost just
114,000 jobs through
January, a 4% dip.
California lost 1.75
million, off 10%. But
there was a pandemic,
no? Did you notice?
Arizona's limited
COVID-19 mandates
translated to (https://bit.ly/3rYsex4)
pandemic deaths equaling
227 per 100,000
residents since January
2020, the fifth-worst
among all of the states.
That's nearly two-thirds
higher than California's
140 per 100,000 rate,
which ranked 30th in the
U.S.
You also seem to forget
about Election Day 2020
when Arizona voters
acted a lot like
Californians. Joe Biden
became president with
Arizona's support. He
was the first Democrat
to win your state in a
quarter-century.
Mark Kelly's victory
also means Arizona has
two Democratic U.S.
senators for the first
time in nearly seven
decades. And your voters
did not act very
"conservative" when they
approved a (https://bit.ly/3qUVrHC)
massive 77% income tax
hike on wealthy
Arizonans to fund
educational
improvements.
Now, I'd never brag
about California K-12
schools, which rank 11th
worst nationally,
according to U.S. News
& World Report. But
your state was
fourth-worst!
You wrote that in
Arizona "we still value
common sense."
Perhaps all those
ex-Californians are
teaching your state a
thing or two.
"Arizona's governor
should embrace reality,
act like a leader and
congratulate Joe Biden
on winning the
election."
Nov.
15, 2020
Arizona
governor
Doug Ducey
making fun
of Joe
Biden’s
stutter to
impress
Trump. Rally
at Prescott
Regional
Airport in
Prescott,
Ariz., on
Oct. 19,
2020.
"According to Ducey, the state
has too many laws already, and businesses need the
freedom to deny jobs, housing, and public services
to LGBTQ+ people."
"Ducey said he does not think
it’s necessary to provide people who are gay the
same legal protections that exist for already
established protected classes"
Question
4: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose.
Question
9: Protecting a parent’s right to seek professional counseling for their minor child with same– sex attraction or gender identity issues to help them reach their desired outcome.*
Candidates'
Position: Support.
*
This is in reference to the
dangerous and disproven
"Reparative Therapy".
"Doug
Ducey and his Republican legislative cronies had $56 million in federal money waiting to be spent to help cover the cost of child care and early childhood education for low income families. They refused to spend it."
"Gov. Doug Ducey said this week that he has long been opposed to separating immigrant children from their families, citing his criticism of an Obama-era policy. One problem: Such a policy never existed."
Ducey refused to meet with teachers or the AEA but he met with these members of the
Patriot Movement AZ (flashing white-power
signs) at the Mohave County Republican Party’s Patriot Dinner at the Mohave County Fairgrounds.
Question
9: Arizona’s voter-approved constitutional definition of marriage should be defended to the fullest extent legally possible.
Candidates'
Position: Support
Question
11: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in antidiscrimination law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
15: Protecting individuals and businesses from being required to provide services or use their artistic expression in a manner that violates their moral or religious beliefs.*
2010 Survey
Questions For
Arizona And County
Candidates
Position Sought:
Treasurer
Question
9: Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Candidates'
Position: Support
Question
12: Adding
“sexual
orientation,”
“gender
identity,”
or
“gender
expression”
to the
protected
classes
of race,
religion,
age,
sex, and
ancestry
in
nondiscrimination
law.
Candidates'
Position: Oppose
Question
15: Protecting professionals from being required to provide services that violate their moral or religious beliefs.*
