With AZ Ranked Badly by Many Measures, Democrats Can Beat Governor Ducey

Most people familiar with moral fairy tales are well versed with the Three Little Pigs fable. In it, the wolf is able to blow down two of the pigs’ houses because they are made of either straw or sticks but is unable to wreck the third one because it is made of bricks.

Apply this tale to conditions in Arizona after three and a half years of Doug Ducey and people will find that the foundations of his house are built on straw and sticks rather than bricks. It would only take a strong problem-solving progressive Democrat one puff to blow this house down and build a new foundation that will better address Arizona’s needs.

Doug Ducey’s Arizona

In Doug Ducey’s Arizona, the state ranks:

• 33^rd overall in the list of best-managed states, according to USA Today. In the Southwest region, only New Mexico ranked worse.
• 39^th overall, according to U.S. News and World report, as the best state in the country. Within that ranking, Arizona received sub-rankings in several areas. These include being ranked:
  • • 43^rd in Education
    • 24^th in Health Care
    • 45^th in Providing Opportunity
    • 38^th in Crimes and Corrections
    • 34^th in Fiscal Stability
    • 39^th in Quality of Life
    • 41^st in Safety on a separate report.

The state also ranks poorly in childcare, ranking Number 41 out of 50 according to a report from Care.com. Again all the blue states led by Democratic Governors in the Southwest beat Arizona and only Nevada and New Mexico are behind the state in this region.

With regard to our unemployment rate, the state, as of April 2018 ranks 46^th out of the 50 states in the unemployment rate (4.9 %) and is above the national rate (3.9%). Again all the blue states led by Democratic Governors had better rankings and only Nevada and New Mexico had the same or lower numbers.

While Arizona does do well in the U.S. report in terms of infrastructure (ranked 12^th) and Economy (16^th), the only state it does worse in the Southwest region is New Mexico (and Nevada as well on the issue of safety.) All the Blue states with Democratic Governors (Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and California) perform better. California (the 11^th best-managed state according to USA Today) is particularly noteworthy because, in one of his debates for Governor in 2014 against Fred Duvall, Ducey commented that California was a poorly managed state. So by his own words (and the rankings), Doug Ducey is a worse manager than the Governor of very blue California.

Working Hard to Defeat Governor Ducey

Hillary Clinton proved that you cannot take an opposing candidate’s shortcomings or lack of achievement as enough to convince voters (in the Rust Belt region in her case) not to support the lesser candidate.

That is the case here with Governor Ducey. An executive who has presided over this growing and entrepreneurial state with such poor results in virtually every social justice indicator is not worthy of reelection.

This is a gubernatorial race that any three of the Democratic candidates (Farley, Fryer, or Garcia) can win. What is necessary is putting forth a bold forwarding-looking agenda and campaigning in every town and region in the state, not taking any voter for granted, on that agenda. The candidiates need to be out every day between now and the election campaigning, even in areas that are normally not receptive to Democrats. They may be surprised how many residents in those areas are receptive to at least some of the ideas they want to implement in the state.

If they work hard and connect with the people, that house, made of straw and sticks that Governor Ducey built will be blown down and a stronger foundation will be laid that will benefit Arizona’s future.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/12/07/best-and-worst-run-states-america-which-one-top-rated/926586001/

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings

https://www.care.com/c/stories/7535/the-best-and-worst-states-for-child-car/

https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/crime-and-corrections/public-safety