Arizona Gov. Ducey asks Washington to look to states for path forward

PHOENIX — On the same day as the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey penned an editorial on Wednesday asking for Washington to look to the states and their governors for a path forward.

“Both our new president and elected leaders in Washington would be wise to look beyond the Potomac — to state capitols across the country, where governors have been working across party lines to produce results for their constituents,” Ducey wrote in The Hill, a political news outlet.

“President-elect Biden and I have numerous differences about the size, scope and role of government,” Ducey added. “I will never hesitate to share my views about the policies that impact Arizona, but ultimately, even if we don’t agree, I think our new president wants to serve our country. I’m honored to attend his inauguration and represent Arizona.”

The Arizona governor announced last week that he would be in attendance for the inauguration of the 46th president of the U.S., which was held in a limited capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic and the riots at the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

“The ceremony will hopefully stand in sharp contrast to the sad spectacle we saw on Jan. 6. Violence and destruction have no place in a building dedicated to debate and deliberation. This is something else all of us can agree on. It must never happen again.”

Ducey pointed to problems that the U.S. will still have to face both nationally and at the state level as a new administration begins to take over. The Arizona governor brought up issues such as coronavirus pandemic, job creation, aging infrastructure and preparing children for the future.

“Defeating the COVID-19 pandemic must be at the top of our national to-do list, and on this states and the new administration can surely find common ground,” Ducey said. “… Tackling these problems will require something that has been all too rare in Washington: common sense and problem-solving.”

Ducey brought up how “evenly divided” Arizona is between registered voters and how it has shaped the state’s approach to public policy.

“There are extremes at both ends of the spectrum, to be sure,” he said. “But our willingness to cross the aisle for the greater good has enabled us to achieve once-in-a-generation water conservation reform, American civics as a requirement to graduate from high school and the nation’s first universal recognition of occupational licensing.”

Ducey also wrote about Biden’s relationship with the late-Arizona Sen. John McCain.

“In the tearful eulogy Biden delivered at the Arizona lawmaker’s funeral, he said they were both ‘cockeyed optimists’ who shared the belief that there wasn’t a single thing America couldn’t achieve,” Ducey wrote.

“After a year like 2020, we all could use a healthy dose of optimism. And we could all benefit from recalling the words of Sen. McCain when he conceded the hard-fought presidential election of 2008 to Sen. Barack Obama: ‘Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.'”

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