Regarding the Superintendent of Public Instruction race between Diane Douglas and David Garcia, here’s an email exchange I just had with a neighbor of mine:
Neighbor: Been meaning to write you a note to thank you again for helping rid the State of Mr. Know it all Huppenthal. So glad he got his butt whupped. That beating he took from a relative unknown had to be an ego buster for a narcissist like him. I guess there are some boundaries even the most uninformed voters won’t ignore. The people of Arizona are indebted to you.
Me: Let’s hope the people of Arizona end up feeling indebted. If Douglas wins and proceeds to destroy what’s left of the public school system, I may be run out of town on a rail!
The bottom line: Take nothing for granted. Contribute to Garcia early. Contribute to Garcia often. Do volunteer work. Spread the word.
Unless of course you want me run out of town on a rail. Thucky? Are you out there?
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It is important to note that Diane Douglas has A Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Marketing from Rutgers University. David Garcia’s degrees are exclusively in colleges of education – which are not exactly noted for high academic standards. I know both candidates and support Diane Douglas – knew her while she was on the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board. She made smart, common sense decisions and will do a good job at the Arizona Department of Education. On the other hand, Garcia says he supports choice such as charter schools. Once in office, he would bring devastating regulations to bear on charter schools. In addition, he wants to bring back bilingual education, something that the voters of Arizona dismantled in 2000 with 63% of the vote. Since 2000, our English language learners have done considerably better.
Marketing is not exactly the most rigorous major, so I’m not following your point. Are you trying to say that Douglas is smarter than Garcia because she majored in marketing as an undergrad at State U while Garcia earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago? Or are you trying to say that a marketing major is more suited to head our education department than… an educator?
By your logic, we would appoint an accountant as Surgeon General. And perhaps an engineer as Attorney General.
Very good point. Diane Douglas benefits from being unknown and having a common Anglo name. Garcia should do well among Hispanic voters but will have to contend with the anti-Hispanic bias in much of the rest of the electorate.
Or perhaps it won’t have anything to do with anti-hispanic bias…it could anti-Democrat bias. I know that is the case with me.
If that is the case with you, it’s unfortunate. Here’s Garcia’s background: https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/746239
Now, go find Douglas’ background and see how they compare. After that, go listen to each of them speak. When you’re trying to recall who Douglas reminds you of, think Saturday Night Live, and the Church Lady.
Lastly, consider what the Republic editorial board (not exactly an arm of the Democratic Party) had to say: If faced with the choice between Douglas and Huppenthal, they would choose Huppenthal.
Well, the truth is I was being a little snarky with that comment. I haven’t spent any time looking up the candidates yet. I just thought there could be more reasons than anti-hispanic hysteria for why people wouldn’t vote for Garcia. You gave me things to consider and will look into the two men and see what I think.
You know it’s sort of funny: Most posters on this blog think of the Arizona Republic as an arm of the Republican Party. When I read it, I think of it as a liberal rag useful only as way to peek at what is going on in Democrat circles. Since they please no one, does that mean they have achieved “fair and balanced”?