Garcia Debates Ducey For Governor

Garcia Debates Ducey For Governor

Maria Polletta, Arizona Republic, reports on the second debate between Latino Deomcratic candidate for Arizona Governor and Republican incumbent Doug Ducey – the contrasts are clear.

“Incumbent Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Democratic opponent David Garcia met in Tucson for their second debate in as many days Tuesday, offering an encore of their Monday performance in Phoenix before moving to new ground.

Arizona 360 host Lorraine Rivera moderated the hour-long forum, held at the Arizona Public Media studio in Tucson, with journalists from Arizona Public Media, the Arizona Daily Star and local NPR affiliate KJZZ contributing questions.

Much of the debate’s first half centered on education — no surprise given the spring’s #RedForEd teacher walkout, the decision to remove the #InvestinEd income-tax measure from the November ballot and recent controversies related to charter-school finances.

WATCH THE FULL 2ND DEBATE: Doug Ducey and David Garcia face off in Tucson

But candidates outlined their perspectives on water, energy and school-safety policies later in the evening.

‘There is dignity in all work’

For the second night in a row, Ducey called the #InvestInEd ballot initiative Garcia’s plan, saying his opponent “tried to deceive voters” until the Arizona Supreme Court put a stop to it.

Garcia supported the measure but did not write it, initiate it or lead it.

Garcia, for his part, again slammed Ducey for “being a follower and not a leader” on charter-school reform, saying the state needs “more transparency and accountability for charter schools so that we have an understanding of how public dollars are being used.”

Ducey tried to paint Garcia as an extremist on border issues for the second straight evening, while Garcia attacked Ducey’s Border Strike Force as ineffective.

The governor also heralded the job growth and company expansions seen during his term, which Garcia said benefited mostly top earners and urban residents in Arizona.

WATCH 1ST DEBATE: Top takeaways from Ducey, Garcia in first gubernatorial debate

Asked to define a “livable wage,” Ducey said it would be “different for different people in different stages of life” and that he believes “there is dignity in all work.”

Garcia defined it this way: “After a full week’s work, 40 hours, you have the money necessary that you need to raise a family.”

‘We cannot play politics’

During the second half of the forum, the candidates tackled issues including transportation, water conservation, solar energy and school safety.

Those topics went unaddressed during the candidates’ first debate, which was less structured and more combative.

Asked about transportation infrastructure in rural areas, Garcia said there is “much work to be done” and rural towns “need investment at the state level.”

Ducey said that “infrastructure is the backbone of our economy,” and “now that our budget has available dollars, we’ve been able to invest in rural roads.”

When the discussion shifted to water conservation, Garcia said the issue “keeps me up at night.”

“Water is the lifeblood of Arizona and it’s one that we cannot play politics with,” Garcia said. “… One of the first things we’ll focus on is bringing all parties together and working on addressing Arizona’s drought-contingency plan.”

Ducey said he appointed Jon Kyl to replace the late John McCain in the U.S. Senate earlier this month largely “because he is a water expert,” and promised that related reforms would pass during the next legislative session.

Garcia also said he would work to make Arizona a “solar superpower” if elected. Ducey said he wanted an “all-of-the-above” policy when it comes to clean and sustainable energy sources.

Republic reporter Richard Ruelas contributed to this article.”