Arizona Daily Star endorses Governor Doug Ducey, and former Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick for CD 2

In today’s Arizona Daily Star, the editorial board endorsed Republican Governor Doug Ducey (page A8) and online here: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/star-opinion-doug-ducey-for-arizona-governor/article_8556481d-b05b-538f-acb0-7ba9f40a1ec8.html The Star also on page A8 endorsed former 3 term CD 1 Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, for the open seat in CD 2: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/star-opinion-ann-kirkpatrick-in-congressional-district/article_179c6c59-5ff5-5399-879e-f22f559095a0.html Governor Ducey is facing a Democrat challenger ASU Professor Dr. David … Read more

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

Kelly Fryer, David Garcia and Steve Farley are Democrats running for Governor in Arizona.
Any of the three Democratic candidates — Kelly Fryer, David Garcia and Steve Farley — can beat Doug Ducey in the race for governor.

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:

  • 33rd overall in the list of best-managed states, according to USA Today. In the Southwest region, only New Mexico ranked worse.
  • 39th 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:
      • 43rd in Education
      • 24th in Health Care
      • 45th in Providing Opportunity
      • 38th in Crimes and Corrections
      • 34th in Fiscal Stability
      • 39th in Quality of Life
      • 41st in Safety on a separate report.

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David Garcia Sees New Voters Propelling Him to Governor’s Office

“Every time Trump tweets, a new Democratic activist is born.”

Candidate David Garcia plans to win the race for Arizona Governor by harnessing disaffected voters, and recruiting a generation of Latinos to become new voters who will support Democrats for years to come.

“To change Arizona and win in 2018 we need to focus on new voters,” Garcia told the Democrats of Greater Tucson yesterday in a rousing presentation. “We have a surge of Democratic energy. It’s incredible. We need to take this unique opportunity to get a group of reliable voters that we have not been able to bring out.”

He cited California as an example of a once-Republican state that is now solidly Democratic. The state’s Latino population boomed in the 1990s and they rejected the Republican hard-line stance on immigration. The state’s immigrant population has elected Democratic candidates decisively in every election since 1992.

Minority voters were a major factor in electing a Democrat to Governor in Virginia this month.

The Latino vote

“Latino voters vote for Democrats 70% of the time,” he said. “They are not engaged and we need to get them on board. The numbers are there to win.”

Repeating a quote from his Democratic rival Steve Farley, Garcia said, “Every time Trump tweets, a new Democratic activist is born.”

He cited three ways that he can take the Governor’s office away from Doug Ducey:

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Choice of 2 Democrats for AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction

Two Democrats Dr.David Garcia and Sharon Thomas  are running in the Arizona primary (August 26) for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.  The winner of this race will face of the winner of the Republican primary between incumbent John Huppenthal and Diane Douglas.

In case you haven’t cast your early ballot and prefer to vote later, or on election day, there’s still time to consider the 2 candidates on the Democratic ticket:

Dr. David Garcia, Associate Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.  Bio from Citizens Clean Elections Commission Voter guide:

Party:  Democrat     Campaign Funding:  Traditional     Web:  www.dg4az.com

As a 4th-generation Arizonan, public school parent and ASU professor, I know our schools,  students and state are not falling behind because of a lack of talent. We are racing to the  bottom because of a lack of vision and expertise at the top. Arizona’s public schools have been  struggling under the weight of increased demands and drastic funding cuts. We face an  alarming achievement gap, an overreliance on test scores over commonsense instruction, and a  lack of leadership from the state superintendent. I’ve devoted my career to improving our public  schools. I’ve been an education policy analyst, research director and Associate State  Superintendent for Standards and Accountability. I have the expertise and ideas that will  strengthen our public schools. As a professor, I’ve trained hundreds of Arizona’s educators. I  know what our teachers need to be successful in the classroom, and I am proud to have the endorsement of the Arizona Education Association and party leaders such as Fred DuVal. Our schools are not better off than they were four years ago, and we can’t afford more of the same. End the status quo. Vote for strong schools and a  stronger Arizona. Vote David Garcia!

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