Last Week This Morning Special Edition: End of Ducey’s…
Good morning, Rj! Happy Sunday! ☀️
Baseless lawsuits. Arizona democracy and community groups released a statement in support of Maricopa County elections officials Helen Purcell and Tammy Patrick, who last week issued a firm rebuke of the false claims in Kari Lake’s “frivolous” election lawsuit.
Border wall updates. The DOJ has sued Arizona over illegal placement, and thanks to local protesters who literally blocked progress of the wall with their bodies for the last several weeks, construction has halted.
Celebrating the end of Ducey’s tenure. Unfortunately, we’re all painfully aware of the last year of Ducey’s legacy – from his ridiculous shipping container border wall, to his refusal to fund education, to the AZ GOP’s attacks on our rights and our communities. But here’s a recap of some of the other worst moments of outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey’s tenure.
- Curbed the right to protest. Ducey implemented a police-state curfew when Black Lives Matter protestors took to the streets over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the continuous police violence against Black Trans people.
- Supported Joe Arpaio. When Trump pardoned Arpaio, who was convicted for ignoring a federal court order to stop unconstitutional racial profiling of Latinos during traffic stops, Ducey called him a friend and credited Arpaio with lowering crime rates.
- Tax Break for the Rich. Ducey touted his flat tax rate as a win for Arizonans. In reality, it disproportionately benefited the wealthiest, with 75% of Arizonans seeing a tax reduction of less than $100, and the wealthiest seeing a reduction up to $7000.
- Saudi Arabia Water Deal. During a historic drought, Ducey allowed a Saudi Arabian company to pump over $38 million of groundwater from La Paz county for free.
- Spent $500K to Elect White Nationalist Wendy. After Rogers associated with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, Ducey defended his support saying she’s “still better than a Democrat”.
- 31,822 Total COVID-19 Deaths. As deaths piled up, Ducey prevented state and local officials from taking preventative measures, ended mask mandates before there was a vaccine, and refused to properly spend COVID-19 funding to help Arizonans.
15 seconds. That’s about how long it takes to scale Ducey’s illegal shipping container wall that’s costing taxpayers over $100 million. Watch here.
Stay safe and enjoy the holidays with your loved ones.
Thanks for reading Last Week, This Morning. This is our last edition of 2022 — we’ll be back next year!
Abigail with Progress Arizona