Doug Ducey

After graduating from ASU, Ducey joined Procter & Gamble and began a career in sales and marketing.[7] Ducey was the CEO at Cold Stone Creamery from 1995 to 2007.[8] When he and his business partner sold the company in 2007, Cold Stone (which was founded in 1988)[9] had more than 1,400 locations in the United States and ten other countries.[10]

He became the lead investor and served as chairman of the board for iMemories from 2008 to 2012.[11]

In 2010 Ducey was elected State Treasurer of Arizona, replacing Dean Martin. As Arizona's chief banker and investment officer, Ducey oversaw more than $12 billion in state assets and served as an investment manager for local governments.[12] The Treasurer serves as the chairman of Arizona's State Board of Investment and State Loan Commission,[12] and as the state's surveyor general and a member of the State Land Selection Board. Ducey also served as the western region vice president for the National Association of State Treasurers, and was the president of the Western State Treasurers' Association.[13]

Ducey accepting his party's nomination for governor of Arizona in August 2014.

In July 2013 Ducey filed the paperwork necessary to explore the possibility of running for governor.[14] On February 19, 2014, he formally announced his intention to seek the office at a rally in downtown Phoenix.[15]

He received the endorsement of numerous conservative leaders, including Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, as well as Governor Scott Walker and former Senator Jon Kyl. Ducey won the Republican nomination in the August primary, and was subsequently endorsed by the outgoing governor, Jan Brewer, along with Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, and the Republicans in Arizona's U.S. House delegation. Ducey was also endorsed by several organizations, including Arizona Right to Life,[16] Concerned Women for America[17] and the Small Business Alliance.

Ducey defeated Democrat Fred DuVal and Libertarian Barry Hess in the November 4 general election.[18]

During Ducey's campaign, press accounts revealed that some of his relatives in Toledo were involved in organized crime in Ohio.[19] The investigation found no evidence that Ducey profited from or engaged in criminal activity. He declined to comment.[20]

Ducey at a campaign rally in Gilbert, Arizona in October 2018.

In 2018 Ducey announced his intention to run for reelection to a second term. In the Republican primary, he defeated 2014 opponent former Secretary of State of Arizona Ken Bennett by a wide margin.[21] Ducey was reelected in November, defeating Democratic nominee David Garcia.

Ducey speaking at a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in October 2016 with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, the vice-presidential nominee.

Ducey was sworn into office on January 5, 2015.[22] Shortly after his term began, he instituted a state employee hiring freeze in an effort to balance the state budget.[23] In March 2015, Ducey signed a $9.1 billion budget that eliminated the state's $1.5 billion budget deficit by reducing spending without instituting a tax increase.[24] Ducey has issued balanced budget proposals each fiscal year since 2015.[25]

On January 15, 2015, Ducey signed an education bill requiring high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship test in order to graduate, making Arizona the first state to require this.[26][27]

Ducey issued his first vetoes on March 30, 2015, of HB2150, an amendment to an animal cruelty law that would have excluded livestock animals from protection under that law,[28] and HB2410, which would have prohibited police departments from establishing quotas for traffic citations.[29]

On March 31, 2017, Ducey signed SB1367, which requires doctors to care for babies born alive during abortions.[30]

On April 6, 2017, Ducey signed a major school voucher expansion bill, extending eligibility to every Arizona student.[31]

On September 4, 2018, it was announced that Ducey had appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated upon the death of John McCain.[32] Kyl resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018,[33] and Ducey appointed former Congresswoman Martha McSally to replace him.[34]

On February 22, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Ducey to the bipartisan Council of Governors.[35]

As governor, Ducey signed legislation to expand the Arizona Supreme Court, seating two additional justices of his choosing.[36] In doing so, he denied that he was "packing" the court.[37] The legislation was "championed by Republicans but decried by Democrats as an effort by the governor to pack the court with his nominees."[38] In November 2016, Ducey appointed Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Andrew Gould and state Solicitor General John Lopez IV to the two seats.[38] Lopez is the state's first Latino justice.[39]

As of April 2020, Ducey has made 71 judicial appointments, more than any governor in Arizona's history, surpassing a record previously held by Bruce Babbitt.[40] In January 2016, he appointed Clint Bolick to the Arizona Supreme Court.[41][42] Before his appointment, Bolick worked as an attorney for the right-wing Goldwater Institute.[37] In April 2019, Ducey appointed Court of Appeals Judge James Beene to the Arizona Supreme Court.[43]

In September 2019, Ducey controversially appointed Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court.[44] The nomination occurred after Ducey replaced several members of the state's judicial nominating commission, who had refused to submit Montgomery's name for a vacancy earlier that year.[45]

Ducey has also appointed several judges to state appellate and trial courts. In 2017, he became the first governor since 1991 to appoint a judge from a different political party to the Arizona Court of Appeals.[46][47]

The Arizona Department of Health Services announced the first case of COVID-19 in Arizona on January 26, 2020, a student at Arizona State University who returned from Wuhan, China.[48] The number of cases rose to nine by mid-March.[48] On March 11, Ducey declared a state of emergency and activated the state's emergency operations center.[49] He also issued executive orders directing the state health department to issue emergency rules to protect nursing home and group home residents.[49] On March 15, Ducey and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman announced a statewide school closure.[50]

On March 30, Ducey issued a stay-at-home order until April 30.[51] On April 29, he extended the order to May 15.[51] At the same time that Ducey was reopening the state, he paused cooperating with a team of epidemiologists and statisticians from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, choosing to use an internal federal model instead.[52][53][54] Later, the department announced that it had established an ongoing relationship with the universities and would continue to reference their findings in the model.[53]

In May, Arizona sought a uniform approach to COVID-19 with consistent mitigation requirements statewide.[55] On June 15, mayors and local governments requested the power to move forward with localized face mask ordinances, including a letter to Ducey from mayors of border towns.[56][57][58][59][60] Ducey gave mayors that power on June 17.[55][56][58][60] Since then, five counties and 47 cities and towns have issued face mask requirements covering more than 90% of Arizona residents.[61][62] In July, Arizona launched a program to provide free masks to senior citizens and people with medical conditions.[63]

In June, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Arizona had risen significantly.[64] Public health experts said that was predictable given Arizona's failures to implement public health precautions and decisions by top officials.[64] Some health experts believe the rise in COVID-19 cases can be attributed to crowded Memorial Day celebrations, the reopening of businesses, and several weeks of protests over racial injustice and the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.[65][66][67] Ducey was criticized for Arizona's failure to require social distancing, mask wearing and other restrictions.[68][69]

On June 29, Ducey ordered some businesses that had reopened, including bars, gyms, and waterparks, to close for 30 days.[70] The order also prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people.[70] Although Arizona activated a hospital crisis standards of care plan that allowed hospitals to maximize surge staffing and capacity, no hospitals reported rationing health care at the state's infection peak.[71][72][73]

On August 6, Ducey, State Superintendent Hoffman, and the Department of Health Services released public health benchmarks for reopening schools.[74] The school benchmarks track COVID-19 statistics by county, including cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, low rates of positive tests, and declining COVID-19 cases in hospitals, for schools to meet before moving to hybrid or fully in-person instruction.[74] Eleven counties met the benchmarks for hybrid schooling in September.[75] On August 10, Arizona's health department released similar benchmarks for reopening higher-risk businesses such as bars, gyms, and movie theaters.[76]

Due to Ducey's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, constituents on both sides of the aisle have filed recall petitions against him.[77][78] One such group, Arizonans for Liberty, a largely conservative group believing that Ducey infringed on personal freedoms with lockdowns in late March, filed on May 1, but did not collect enough signatures.[79][80] Another group, Accountable Arizona, a nonpartisan, grassroots movement believing that Ducey had not done enough to combat the pandemic, filed on September 18,[81][82][83][84] and also failed to garner adequate support.[85]

The Arizona Republican Party censured Ducey on January 23, 2021, because of his COVID-related health restrictions. He also had a well-publicized break with many state Republicans when he signed the certification for Joe Biden′s victory in the presidential election in Arizona. "These resolutions are of no consequence whatsoever and the people behind them have lost whatever little moral authority they may have once had", Ducey’s political director said.[86]

After years of cuts to education during the Great Recession, Ducey has increased funding to K-12 schools above inflation every year during his tenure.[87] Since 2015, Arizona has added $4.5 billion in total new investments into schools and increased K-12 public school funding by $2.3 billion annually.[88][89]

In 2015, Ducey led the campaign to pass Proposition 123, putting $3.5 billion into K-12 education over 10 years. The proposition, which passed the state legislature and was approved by voters, also settled a years-long lawsuit about education funding.[90]

In 2018, in response to nationwide teacher protests, Ducey announced the "20x2020" plan, which would raise teacher salaries 20% over three years and restore Recession-era cuts to flexible school funding known as additional assistance. The promise was fulfilled on schedule through the fiscal year 2021 budget, which included $645 million in permanent funding for teacher raises. The promised restoration of additional assistance dollars has taken place ahead of schedule.[91]

Also in 2018, Ducey signed a 20-year extension of Proposition 301, a voter-approved initiative passed in 2000 and championed by then-Governor Jane Hull. The proposition provides approximately $667 million annually to Arizona’s K-12 public schools, universities, community colleges, and tribal schools through a 0.6% sales tax.[92]

In 2017, Ducey implemented the first-ever dedicated funding for school counselors and the establishment of the Arizona Teachers Academy, a partnership with Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University that enables future Arizona public school teachers to graduate with a teaching degree debt-free.[93]

On January 16, 2015, Ducey signed the American Civics Act, which requires that all Arizona students pass a basic civics test before graduating from high school.[94] It was the first bill he signed, making Arizona the first state in the country to enact such a law. Since its enactment, 34 states have passed similar legislation.[95]

In 2018, Ducey proclaimed September 25 the inaugural Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day, in honor of Sandra Day O'Connor's dedication to civics and her swearing-in to the Supreme Court on September 25, 1981.[96] In March 2020, he signed into law the Civics Celebration Day bill, which requires schools to dedicate the majority of classroom instruction to civics on September 25.[95][97]

Ducey opposes the Affordable Care Act, saying, "It's no secret Obamacare has been a disaster for Arizona and that I want it repealed and replaced."[98] On July 30, 2017, The Arizona Republic reported that Ducey had urged Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain to vote for legislation that would repeal and replace it. McCain ultimately voted against repeal.[98]

In September 2017, Ducey released a statement endorsing the Graham–Cassidy health care amendment as "the best path forward to repeal and replace Obamacare."[99] On September 20 he said the effects of the Graham–Cassidy bill on the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System were being analyzed by his staff and asserted that the ACA had been a failure. He admitted he had not seen the final version of the Graham-Cassidy bill but said he suspected it would be “the longest possible transition so that we can move people from Medicaid into a superior insurance product."[100]

In August 2017, after violence by white nationalists at a gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, Ducey said in response to a reporter's question that he had no interest in removing Confederate monuments from public lands in Arizona.[101] He condemned groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis and white nationalists and said, "It's important that people know our history... I don't think we should try to hide our history."[101][102] In July 2020, the Arizona Department of Administration announced that it had agreed to return a statue of Confederate soldiers to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[103]

As a candidate, Ducey opposed same-sex marriage as well as domestic partnerships for unmarried couples.[104] As governor, in 2015, he supported allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.[105] After same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision, Ducey said the state would comply with the law and that there were good people on both sides of the issue.[106] In 2017, he said he would not ask the legislature to pass anti-discrimination laws, but added that he opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation.[107] In April 2019, he signed into law a bill that repealed the sex and health education laws that prohibited the "promotion" of homosexuality as an acceptable "lifestyle."[108]

Under Ducey, the state government was mandated to "shrink", which led Ducey-appointed administrator Tim Jeffries to fire over 400 state employees at the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES). Ducey then prohibited the leadership from firing employees. The employees were fired for infractions such as questioning leadership for sending purportedly political emails on government systems. Fired employees will be able to petition for reconsideration of their firings with the state HR chief, though they do not have the rights in employment they once did as state employees because of a law signed by Governor Brewer that converted them to at-will employment in return for bonuses.[109][110]

Ducey was a major proponent of AZ Prop 123, which slowly gleaned more dollars from the state land trust to settle a lawsuit that a judge ruled deprived students and teachers of adequate education funding as mandated by Arizona voters. The Arizona legislature violated the law by funding education in the state below the level required by AZ Prop 301 (Year 2000).[111] Prop 123 settled the lawsuit without raising revenue by increasing distributions from the land trust the federal government bequeathed to the State of Arizona at statehood. Prop 123 also deferred to the legislature, thus overriding Prop 300 in the case the state did not have enough funds for education. Voters essentially undid their Year-2000 mandate. The law was passed with controversy, and many teachers were promised small raises only if the law passed, creating an emergent political issue.[112][113] With a strong Republican majority, it was not considered politically possible to raise revenue to fund education to the level required, so Prop 123 represented a grand compromise.[114]

In May 2018 Ducey signed into law a bill that requires individuals who collect unemployment benefits for more than four weeks to take any job that pays 20% more than the unemployment benefits. Unemployment benefits in Arizona are one-half of what individuals earned before they were laid off, up to a cap of $240 a week. The new legislation means that people must take jobs paying $288 a week (approximately $15,000 a year) regardless of what they used to make.[115]