Who was that guy? Gov. Doug Ducey's 2017 proposals spark cheers, head-scratching

On one of the biggest days of this year's legislative calendar, Ken Clark was seated near the back of the Arizona House of Representatives' chambers.

Clark is a Democrat and figured he knew what to expect from Gov. Doug Ducey's annual State of the State address.

He had no inside information, but during his time as a lawmaker, Clark has grown accustomed to Ducey, with the Republican legislators who control the state, putting what he believes are too few dollars into public education and too many into tax cuts for corporations.

As he listened, he was surprised to hear the governor unveil an expansive education-funding agenda and equally surprised to be applauding and, at points, on his feet.

Ducey called on lawmakers to back his budget proposal, which modestly increases teacher pay, expands all-day kindergarten in low-income schools, forgives college loans for the state’s struggling teacher ranks, and funds other programs aimed at parents and babies, disabled children, and inmates leaving prison.

“He sounds like either (former Democratic Arizona Gov.) Janet Napolitano, (Vermont U.S. Sen.) Bernie Sanders or any one of us (Democrats), depending on where he was in that speech,” Clark said of the Republican governor.

Like many others, Clark left the Capitol that day wondering if he had seen a new side to the governor or if he had misjudged him over the past two years.

MORE: Can Ducey fix education without more money?

Ducey's agenda, while modest when it comes to dollars to carry it out, signals a departure from the politics many have come to expect from him — less government regulation, lower taxes to lure companies, and support for successful charter schools. With such a heavy emphasis on public-education spending this year, and help for the poor and disabled, the governor came across as a more moderate, compassionate conservative who is willing to listen to his constituents, political watchers said.

A pivot for Ducey?

Political observers suggested Ducey's focus on education is an attempt to reposition himself as a more moderate leader as he gears up for a looming re-election campaign in 2018.

Education has been a consistent concern of Arizona voters, according to polls. His ideas play well with parents, education advocates and business executives.

“The whole pivot toward a better education system, and paying for it, suggests someone who’s really settled into the office and has a much broader perspective on the needs of the state than when they first ran for office,” said Democratic consultant Barry Dill. “Do I see why it would make some people cynical? Sure. I also think he’s looking forward toward 2018.”

RELATED: As Ducey eyes more debt, some lawmakers fret

Ducey has carefully crafted a reputation as a fiscal conservative who wants to lower taxes, bring more jobs to Arizona, and give parents more influence over their children’s education while reducing government’s role in their lives. While pursuing those ends, he has been seen at times as a cold, tightfisted leader who prioritizes government efficiency and political ambition over the needs of the state's most vulnerable residents.

Ducey's budget plan for fiscal 2018 includes $176 million in new initiatives that are overwhelmingly headed to public education, and sees stronger revenue growth and would spend more money than the state's nonpartisan budget officials recommend. His budget also proposes to create up to $1 billion in new bonding authority for the state's universities, provides a small tax cut, and funds a program to screen babies for a rare genetic disorder that can be deadly if not detected.

Ducey's proposed budget increases are relatively modest, and were criticized by Democrats who said he should pick a few initiatives rather than a fistful of them, and fund them in a more meaningful way. For example, the proposed pay raises are likely to fall short of inflation over the same period.

Despite Ducey's meager proposed spending, critics acknowledged the governor moves spending in what they see as the right direction.

Samuel Richard, executive director at Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition, which advocates for health and human services at the state Capitol, was expecting Ducey to call for more dramatic tax cuts. So he was pleasantly surprised the governor did not call for dramatic tax cuts, and paid more attention to education and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families restoration.

"This is the smallest tax cut he has proposed yet, and he's trying to delicately balance his commitment to cutting taxes every year, while embracing the reality that Arizonans by and large realize we can't afford them," Richard said. "This is a relatively small thing ... and that's a huge victory."

'What he’s always done'

After watching the governor for a couple of years, Todd Clodfelter, a freshman Republican representative from Tucson, expected a more frugal spending proposal from Ducey.

"I was expecting a little more of a speech discussing maintaining stability, and being thoughtful with our growth and our ambitions in spending," he said. "Not that this isn't a desirable direction. I think he's a compassionate fellow who wants to see the best in the state of Arizona."

But those closest to him say his plan reflects who he has always been. The difference this year, they said: He is crisis-free, with a $1 billion deficit and education-funding legal battle behind him.

Kirk Adams, the governor’s chief of staff, said Ducey's agenda is informed by life experience, conservative values, and Christian faith.

“He is doing what he’s always done as a governor,” he said. “It’s just now he has more resources, and he’s targeting the resources more appropriately.”

Adams pushed back on the characterization by Democrats and others that Ducey sounds more moderate than in years’ past, particularly when it comes to education.

RELATED: What Ducey's ed spending plan means for Arizonans

He said the governor has prioritized education, pointing to his championing of Proposition 123, which put another $3.5 billion into education over 10 years and resolved a lawsuit over the state’s underfunding of schools. The deal, however, provided less funding for the schools than they were owed.

“There’s been no change in his approach to education. The difference is there are more available resources this year, and what he won’t do is what’s been done in years’ past. What he won’t do is … make promises that can’t be kept,” a reference to prior funding by the state under former Gov. Janet Napolitano to fund all-day kindergarten. The state ended its commitment to the program during the recession.

'Bleeding heart conservative'?

Gubernatorial aides liken Ducey to the late Jack Kemp, a former pro-football-player who served in Congress for nearly two decades, was the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1996, and Housing and Urban Development secretary under President George H.W. Bush.

Kemp was a believer in supply-side economics, the idea that the economy grows best when government poses relatively few barriers to moving money where investors think is best and where people think it should be spent. Supply-side supporters tend to support lower taxes on the theory that people will spend more and ultimately increase tax revenue.

A self-described "bleeding heart conservative," Kemp preached that the best way to combat poverty is to expand opportunity.

Ducey says his budget "addresses our challenges in compassionate, common-sense, bipartisan and pragmatic ways."

Adams noted the governor’s budget last year called for a program to give offenders released under parole or community supervision who commit technical violations another chance to get on the right path.

But Ducey also signed into law a limit on cash assistance to poor families, making Arizona the most stringent state in the nation for such aid. And he was silent during the debate over expanding a children’s health-care program, although he later signed the budget that funded the program, known as KidsCare.

This year, Ducey’s budget calls for an end to the one-year limit on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, saying the state should return to a two-year lifetime cap for those who are making responsible choices, such as looking for jobs and getting their kids to school.

“I will tell you that came directly from Doug Ducey. That was not a staff recommendation,” Adams said, adding that the governor’s signature on the budget that funded a one-year limit of aid did not mean he supported it.

“By the time a budget gets to a governor’s desk, it’s the product of weeks of negotiation,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that everything he signs in a budget is everything he embraces fully. If you want to move people from poverty to work, they probably need a bridge to get there.”

Bill Lavidge, a longtime Ducey friend who owns a large advertising agency, said Ducey's agenda this year is true to his business-minded values: "Part of that is not spending money you don't have. I know him as a guy who is patient, too. He's not going to try to do it all overnight."

Republic reporter Ronald J. Hansen contributed to this article.

Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett and reach her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.