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Judge considers Trump legal challenge to election
Arizona elections officials continue to count ballots inside the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) The Trump campaign made...
Tag: doug ducey
Ducey loses big with Trump, taxes, legal pot
President Donald Trump, left, pauses with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey during a campaign rally Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Republican...
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Bowers, Fann retain leadership posts; Dems choose Bolding, Rios
From left are Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, and House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa. Republican lawmakers re-elected them to lead the legislative chambers in 2021. Legislative...
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Court says Ducey can’t allow restaurants to sell booze to go
Gov. Doug Ducey broke the law when he told police and liquor agents not to enforce statutes that prohibit restaurants from selling alcoholic beverages to go, a judge ruled Monday....
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Tax on rich, legalized marijuana take lead in early ballots
Editor’s note: This is a developing story that will be updated as more results become available. This story was first published at 8:52 p.m., and last updated at 9:35 p.m.
Arizonans are on track to approve ballot measures to tax the rich to fund public education and legalize adult-use recreational marijuana.
Voter approval of Proposition 208, the education tax hike also known as Invest in Education, would be a major defeat for Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who has made it his mission to only cut taxes while he runs the state.
While there are still hundreds of thousands of ballots left to count statewide, Prop. 208 leads 54.4% to 45.6%. The marijuana initiative, also known as the Smart and Safe Act, is ahead 60% to 40%.
Backers for Prop 208 declared victory at around 8:30 p.m. and the Associated Press called the race for Prop 207.
Arizona saw record turnout across the board in this election surpassing the previous record from 2016 from early ballots alone. And many races saw a record amount of cash pouring in in the form of independent expenditures committees, which predominantly were used on advertising.
Invest in Education, which will add a surcharge of 3.5% on taxable income for individuals who earn more than $250,000 a year or $500,000 a year for couples, is promoted as an annual infusion of about $940 million for K-12 in the state. About half of that will be for schools to hire teachers and classroom support personnel. The measure spawned out of the Red for Ed movement in 2018 with teachers and educators frustrated over the state’s low teacher pay and high student-to-teacher ratio.
The yes group raised roughly $21.6 million – mostly from national education groups with local ties – and spent more than $16 million.
The no group, which was backed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and former appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction Jaime Molera, has spent $13.6 million.
First reported in the Yellow Sheet Report on Oct. 30, Prop 208 backers complained about the Chamber spending $16 million or so on TV advertising, but only reporting $5 million across three groups. The day after our sister publication posted the story, the Chamber reported an additional $8.6 million, which was several days after the deadline for the Pre-General campaign finance report.
Prop 207 would make it legal to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, and allow people previously convicted of marijuana crimes to have their records expunged by the courts. The sale comes with a 16% excise tax.
Backers spent the better part of the past four years after a narrow defeat in 2016 picking up support while also watching its opposition diminish. Money reflects those changes and apparently so did the early results. Backers received and spent more than $5 million, slightly less than 2016. Opposition hasn’t cracked $1 million in fundraising, which is a far cry from 2016 where it spent more than $6 million.
It did receive a generous contribution from the Chamber as well in the waning days of the election. The Chamber gave $100,000 after putting in more than $1 million in 2016 and vowing to not partake in the race –– at least financially.
When it’s all said and done, the Chamber would have spent roughly $10 million to defeat two ballot measures only to suffer two defeats of its own.
A stutterer’s perspective on Gov. Doug Ducey
Ducey to use relief dollars to shore up unemployment fund
Gov. Doug Ducey is planning to put federal cash given to the state for COVID-19 relief into the soon-to-be-insolvent unemployment trust fund to save companies from having to replenish the...
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AG opens probe of Ducey over alleged illegal electioneering
Arizona’s Republican attorney general is investigating Arizona’s Republican governor over potentially violating state law relating to electioneering using government resources.
As the Capitol Times reported earlier this month, Ducey may have broken a state law by using government resources to tell business leaders to vote against Proposition 208, also known as Invest in Education, and the office of Attorney General Mark Brnovich is now looking into it.
During a call with business leaders, Ducey repeatedly told them to not only vote against the income tax hike for education, but to go on the No on 208 website to get more information.
Ducey’s aides denied that he had broken any law about using public resources to influence the outcome of an election, but shortly after Arizona Capitol Times published the story, Roopali Desai, the attorney representing Invest in Education, filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, saying they were disturbed to read about Ducey’s potential violation.
“It’s difficult to imagine a more blatant and brazen violation of A.R.S. § 16-192,” Desai wrote, adding that Ducey ”plainly used ‘public resources’” and his “words were unquestionably ‘for the purposes of influencing the outcome’ of an election.”
Capitol Times obtained the complaint via the state’s public records law.
A spokesman with the Attorney General’s Office confirmed the investigation, but said he cannot comment further since it is “ongoing.”
Brnovich has previously issued opinions on similar violations including how elected officials may exercise their free speech rights without improperly using public money to influence elections.
He also charged several elected officials including multi Ducey-appointee Andy Tobin (who now runs the Department of Administration) for using the Arizona Corporation Commission letterhead in an email urging others to vote no on a ballot measure in 2018. Tobin and the others were each fined $225.
In the September 29 call in question, Ducey complained that the Invest in Education initiative was “a small business killer” and urged people to vote against it.
“I’m asking the small business community to get the word out. Let’s keep our economy chugging along,” he said in an audio clip obtained by the Yellow Sheet Report, a sister publication of the Arizona Capitol Times.
He repeated the talking points of the anti-Invest in Ed campaign, including that proposal has no accountability and the money “won’t get to the classroom and won’t benefit our teachers.”
Panel proposes ways to address violence against indigenous women
The Arizona Capitol grounds are shown Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) Reducing a disproportionate amount of violence directed at indigenous women...
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Deploying body-worn cameras – next steps for DPS
On September 30, 2020, Gov. Doug Ducey announced a plan to deploy 150 body-worn cameras (BWCs) to troopers in the Arizona Department of Public Safety. This is an excellent first step for DPS to join the thousands of other law enforcement agencies across the United States that have already deployed BWCs. BWCs can produce numerous benefits, from improved citizen attitudes to reductions in complaints against officers and the use of force. Not all police departments experience these benefits, and one of the primary reasons is poor planning. A BWC program that is rushed and without a clear goal can actually make things worse, not better.
Agencies like DPS that are just beginning their programs have resources to draw on. The U.S. Department of Justice funds a BWC Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) team. The TTA team, which I co-direct, provides comprehensive support to agencies deploying BWCs. Over the last five years, we have assisted more than 400 law enforcement agencies. We also created a “Law Enforcement Implementation Checklist” to guide agencies as they begin a BWC program. Here are key points for DPS to consider as they begin their BWC program:
Learn the Fundamentals and Develop a Plan. DPS should identify the goals they want to achieve through their BWC program. Moreover, agency leaders should “do their homework” to guarantee that they have a clear understanding of the benefits and limitations of BWCs as well as the costs required.
Form a Working Group. DPS should form a working group to take overall responsibility for the program. All relevant units within DPS should have representation, including but not limited to command and first-line supervisors, troopers and their association, records management, and information technology.
Develop a Good BWC Policy. Good BWC policy leads to good BWC practice. The working group should review local and state laws as well as policies from other agencies. Troopers should play an important role in crafting policy. The BWC policy should be reviewed and updated regularly. The policy should clearly address activation compliance, accountability measures, and footage release. A BWC program without a clear and enforced policy is like a ship without a sail.
Carry Out a Competitive Procurement Process. The working group should start by figuring out DPS’s hardware and software needs, financial/resource constraints, and data storage preferences. These issues are typically set out in a request for proposals (RFP) that is released to BWC vendors. Those vendors will submit bids in response to the agency’s RFP. The BWC working group should then develop a process to select the vendor.
Communicate with and Educate Stakeholders. DPS should develop a plan to publicize the BWC program. An internally focused campaign can educate agency employees about goals, policy decisions, etc. Internal transparency is an excellent way to short-circuit resistance to the BWC program. A similar campaign externally can reduce concerns among citizens, advocacy groups, prosecutors, and the courts.
Execute Phased Rollout and Implementation. DPS is starting with 150 cameras. This is a good idea. A BWC program is very complex. A phased rollout provides additional flexibility to adjust the program as needed.
Last, DPS should seriously consider applying for a grant from the federal BWC funding program. A federal grant can go a long way in terms of offsetting the costs of a BWC program, and the federal money comes with the full support of our TTA team.
Michael White is a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is also co-director of the U.S. Department of Justice BWC Training and Technical Assistance Team.
Arizona finds pharmacist to prepare lethal injections
Arizona has found a compounding pharmacist to prepare the drug pentobarbital for lethal injections, officials said October 27, moving the state closer to resuming executions after a six-year hiatus. Finding...
