Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Garcia said Ducey failed public-school students by signing a measure to expand the state's school-voucher program

Ducey said this week he will start campaigning for re-election next year

Democrat David Garcia, an education-leadership professor, announced his candidacy for governor on Wednesday, saying Republican Gov. Doug Ducey is systematically destroying public education in Arizona.

Garcia, 47, narrowly lost a 2014 bid for state superintendent of public instruction, and was expected to try to unseat Republican Diane Douglas in a rematch.

But Garcia shifted gears late last week, after watching Ducey and the Republican-controlled Legislature push through an expansion of the state’s controversial school-voucher program. As governor, Garcia said Wednesday, he would more directly influence the state’s future on public education.

He made the announcement at the state Capitol with his wife and two daughters by his side, and with cheers from supporters who included public-school teachers, parents, Democratic lawmakers, and others. Some held signs that read, "Educators for David Garcia," "Time to Dump Ducey!," and "A governor for all the people not just the rich."

"Last Thursday, when the governor signed the bill, I realized that I couldn't run for superintendent anymore," Garcia said in an interview Wednesday with The Arizona Republic before his announcement. "The superintendent's role is to implement the voucher bill, and there's no way I could put together a full-throated campaign for a position whose responsibility would be to dismantle public education.

"... Someone's got to stand up for public-school parents and demand that the Legislature and the governor honor our choice. The thought is that the 'choosers' are the ones that are leaving public schools, and that's not true: We have hundreds of thousands of public-school parents ... who have chosen traditional public schools and charter schools for their children, and we're not honoring their choice. We're 50th in the nation in education, and instead of helping out our schools, we're going to take more money from them."

Ducey's political adviser, J.P. Twist, said he isn't "going to get involved in the Democrats' primary, but he (Garcia) appears to be loose with the facts right out of the gate."

On Tuesday, Ducey praised the ESA expansion, calling it an "innovative" tool for parents. Asked if his support for it will make him vulnerable in a re-election campaign, he said, "I think that campaign seasons are entirely too long, so we can talk about that next year. I do intend to stand on my record of action and accomplishments."

Ducey negotiated a deal out of the public eye to expand the program, which was capped to about 5,500 for certain families, to an estimated 30,000 by 2022.

The Empowerment Scholarship Account program allows parents to take public money that would otherwise go to public schools and use it for private-school tuition, tutoring, therapies and other educational expenses. The Legislature created the program in 2011 for disabled children and since then has widened it, with the latest expansion making all public-school students eligible. The plan is estimated to save the state’s general fund $3.4 million in fiscal year 2021, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Supporters hail expansion of the program as a model for states eyeing ways to give parents more choices in educating their children. But critics — including Democrats, public-education groups and some moderate Republicans — say the expanded program will drain too much money from public schools while subsidizing private school for families who might be able to afford it.

Rallying at the state Capitol

Last week, Garcia was seen rallying with parents, retired teachers and education groups at the state Capitol, shortly before the Legislature began a marathon debate of the measure. On Friday, he said he woke up and began making calls to put together a team to run for governor.

At least one other Democrat may jump into the race: Sen. Steve Farley of Tucson. Already, another Democrat unknown to practically anyone — Noah Dyer — has announced his candidacy.

Ducey, who rose from the treasurer’s post to the Governor’s Office in 2014, is raising money but has not yet formally kicked off his re-election effort. The governor will have considerable financial backing from the Republican establishment, industry groups such as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and — if history shows — from “dark money” groups that do not have to report the source of their funding.

Garcia is widely seen as a candidate who can rival Ducey on education policy, but it is unclear if he can draw financial backing to match Ducey. Garcia said it will be difficult to match the money that Ducey undoubtedly will receive, but he said he will rely on in-state donors rather than out-of state "special interests," a reference to the out-of-state groups that helped Ducey win during the 2014 election.

And, in a red-leaning state, Garcia will have to win over a fair number of independents and moderate Republicans who may be unimpressed with Ducey's performance.

"It's definitely an uphill battle given voter registration numbers in Arizona, and the governor will be an incumbent at that point and has proven adept at campaigning and raising money," said Richard Herrera, an Arizona State University associate professor of political science. "There are multiple challenges, even for a very strong, credible Democratic candidate. To run against an incumbent governor is a very daunting task.

"What any Democrat, including David Garcia would hope for, is the ability to tie the governor to unpopular policies and/or people. So to the extent that President Trump's approval stays low ... and the governor's tied to him, that could help because it could help Democratic voter turnout ... and he would also hope to see an uptick of voter participation."

During the 2016 primary election, Ducey would not publicly pledge his support for any of the Republican candidates. He eventually said he would support the GOP nominee and urged Republicans to unify to ensure Republicans win the White House. He then led the state GOP delegation to the Republican National Convention in Ohio.

Garcia was born and raised in Mesa and has lived in central Phoenix for two decades. He formerly worked as the associate superintendent for assessments and accountability at the state Department of Education.

He sat down with The Republic to talk about his candidacy:

Question: What is your vision for public education in Arizona?

Answer: We've been starving public education in Arizona. We have forced our teachers to do more and more with less and less. And instead of thanking them and instead of showing them some real respect, all we've done is toss them — what was it? Just a couple of bucks in a raise a week? That's not enough. Folks may read this and think that it's about giving money to schools, and that's not what it's about. It's about giving opportunity to students. Resources are our way to provide opportunity to students.

In the end, we're a relatively poor state, especially if you're a child, and we have so many students — just like me, who are first generation and are looking, counting on their public schools to help them improve themselves and improve their families. That matters to me. I'm a fourth-generation Arizonan, a product of Arizona's schools — I went to ASU when it was an affordable university that gave me a chance. I went to the Army in between because I needed money, college money, and my dad had served as well. I just think we need those same opportunity for other students.

Q: How do you implement that vision given the financial realities?

A: You change the financial realities. I believe our leadership has forgotten what's possible, and I don't think the people of Arizona have. The people of Arizona passed the minimum-wage increase, despite the doom and gloom and opposition of our state leadership. And what's going on right now? Our economy is moving along, there is no doom and gloom, and at the same time, we're helping out our working families with a livable wage. That is possible. If we continue to think creatively, we don't box ourselves in with ideas. I think a lot of creative ideas are going to present themselves.

Q: What other pressing issues does the state face and how would you address them?

A: Obviously health care, infrastructure, public safety, immigration. And in the next few months, what I need to do is go out to Arizona and get Arizona answers to those issues, not ideas from outside of Arizona. I'm an expert in education — Arizona's biggest area — and I'm going to take that expertise, and I'm going to apply it and come up with equally creative ideas and a vision in health care and transportation and immigration. That's my task going forward.

Q: Would you propose raising taxes to generate more state revenue? If so, how would you propose that money be spent?

A: First off, we've got to look at where we're leaking ... and not spend our time and energy by saying, "We're going to cut taxes." That's what's put us in a corner here. And second, I do think we need to look at raising revenue. I'm born and raised here, and I don't think we value Arizona as much as we should. We give this beautiful state away too often on the cheap. We need to do a better job of making sure that we're ... attracting, but also investing. The future is getting ideas started here in Arizona ... that's where all the creativity is. To do that, you need to invest, and we need to invest in our people.

Q: What is your path to victory against an incumbent governor who is expected to once again be well-financed?

A: This is going to take a historic effort; I know that. But if you look around, we are living in historic times, and that's no exaggeration. I think what's going to be next is historic. I believe what has happened is a lot of Arizona has woken up and they've come to realize the consequences of elections, and they're active. Folks are going to look at me, and say, "What can I do? Can I win it?" And I think the answer is: We need to win it as Arizonans. We're not going to have a deep-pocketed campaign, but it's going to be a campaign that's energized by people.

Q: In 2014, you lost to Diane Douglas. Why do you think you can beat Ducey?

A: This is an issue of turnout. This is an issue of making sure that our voting population reflects Arizona's population — that's what this is about. It's about getting people to come out. More than anything, people were disengaging in the process, and I'm starting to see that change, and I do believe that is going to change. If we can get people engaged, I like our chances a lot.

Q: What’s your biggest criticism of Ducey?

A: If you scratch the surface, the state really isn't being managed all that well. We've got multiple issues with top aides, we've had ideas that really aren't very visionary at the end of the day. We've got pay increases that are meager, for example, a list of education ideas that haven't gone anywhere. I just think that if you scratch it back, we're not reaching our potential. The ideas coming from the top right now aren't visionary. The ideas coming from the top right now lack creativity, and we need to get that back. There's a lot of it out there in Arizona, it just isn't here at the Capitol.

Q: What is your biggest problem with the school-voucher program?

A: I'm a public-school parent, and my choice is to be in a public school. Ninety-five percent of our parents in Arizona choose a traditional public school or a charter school. The question is: What's the governor doing for those 95 percent? We're dead last and instead of providing more and honoring our choice, we're allowing more to leave. I think what people see here is that the people who leave are making a choice. That's not true. My daughters could be anywhere we want them to be and we are choosing to be ... a traditional public school, and one is at a charter. We need to demand that the Legislature honor that choice — that is where 95 percent of our children are. My job as superintendent would (have been) to implement the (ESA expansion) bill.

Q: As governor, how would you approach the school-voucher program?

A: We would immediately work to undo it. I think there are circumstances for special-education students, by the way, and I know that they are included in ESAs. We have long done that, and I don't have a problem with that. But that's not what this is about. This is about privatization and universal expansion.

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

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Ducey signs Arizona school-voucher expansion