Press Releases and Official Statements
December 29, 2020
Accountable Arizona issues statement about #RecallDougDucey effort
It is with a heavy heart that Accountable Arizona, the nonpartisan, grassroots group behind the Recall Doug Ducey campaign, is announcing we are suspending our effort to recall Governor Doug Ducey.
COVID-19 is completely out of control in Arizona, and as a pro-public health group, we have tried to be as creative as possible in gathering signatures; however, Ducey’s willful fecklessness has made it impossible. Our organization is all volunteer and we do not feel comfortable continuing to send our volunteers out to collect signatures, especially when we are met with harassment from anti-maskers at every signing location we hold. 40% of the total COVID-19 cases in Arizona this year have come in the last five weeks alone, yet Gov. Ducey and Dr. Cara Christ continue to relax mitigation measures. It is clear to us Ducey and Christ have no desire to slow the spread of COVID-19 and their only strategy is one of willful fecklessness. Meanwhile, Arizonans are being required to just accept thousands of their friends, family, and neighbors will die each month. We refuse to accept this being the only way.
There is a growing desire to recall Ducey from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. We are confident a well-funded recall effort which focused on the Governor’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic would be successful. Our effort raised under 5,000 dollars and managed to collect over 150,000 signatures during an out of control pandemic - with no paid circulators. We could only imagine how a recall effort with proper financial support would fare. We predict a recall effort with financial support of at least $1 million would successfully force a recall of Ducey.
Accountable Arizona will continue our mission to hold Ducey accountable for his failures during COVID-19 and to make sure he never holds elected office in the state of Arizona again. We will also work to hold all elected leaders in Arizona accountable who put themselves before the people they are sworn to represent, regardless of political party. We can’t do this alone. While odds are stacked against grassroots organizations, the power should still remain with the people. We will continue to guide you in how we can hold our officials accountable.
We aren’t done fighting for Arizona and you shouldn’t be either.
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December 20, 2020
Accountable Arizona hosts candlelit vigil with Marked by COVID for Day of Community Grieving 12/21/20
Arizona’s leaders have failed us. Doug Ducey and Dr. Christ will not implement measures to protect our citizens. Elected officials continue to voice criticisms without calling for the recall or resignation of the governor.
There are 8,000 people dead. That’s 8,000 grieving families. Those aren’t the only Arizonans suffering. Indigenous people and Arizona's People of Color have been both disproportionately and negatively affected. Front line workers are forced to work in impossible conditions. Teachers are being ignored. Unemployment payments are late. ICU Beds are full.
We’ve heard you. We’ve been listening. We want to share your story. We are reserving 12/21 at 6:30 PM as a time of community grieving. Please post on social media using the hashtag #DeadOnDucey and share with us how COVID has affected you these last 8 months. If you feel so inclined, please include #MarkedByCOVID and #RecallDougDucey in your post.# # #
December 16, 2020
Accountable Arizona issues statement following Governor Doug Ducey’s Press Conference on 12/16/2020
Accountable Arizona, the nonpartisan, grassroots group behind the Recall Doug Ducey campaign, finds Governor Doug Ducey's repeated inaction to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state of Arizona to not only be unacceptable, but a dereliction of his duty as governor. Gov. Ducey’s press conferences are filled with platitudes and zero action. The Governor talks about personal responsibility but anytime he is challenged by reporters about his refusal to act he gets upset and admonishes them, much like another politician in this country.
The fact is COVID-19 is out of control in this state. Gov. Ducey was warned for months that things were trending for a brutal December and he chose to do nothing. Even now as nearly everyone in Arizona can see the virus is out of control, Gov. Ducey is more focused on a vaccine that by his own admission, will not be available to most Arizonans for several months. Each day this December we are seeing thousands of new cases and an average of 59 more Arizonans losing their lives. It is long overdue that the state coalesce behind our effort to recall Gov. Ducey, he is absolutely unfit to be governor and clearly has no desire to lead. Information can be found about how to sign and get involved with our effort at accountablearizona.org.
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December 2nd, 2020
Accountable Arizona issues statement following Governor Doug Ducey’s Press Conference on 12/2/2020
Accountable Arizona, the nonpartisan, grassroots group behind the Recall Doug Ducey campaign, finds Governor Doug Ducey’s failure once again to issue a statewide mask mandate in Arizona to be a complete lack of leadership, and continues to be reckless, cruel, and unacceptable. If Gov. Ducey can admit that the rate of spread is out of control, clearly the strategy of “personal responsibility” is not working and bold actions must be taken. Following the record high new cases after Thanksgiving, and the dire warnings from modelers at Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona, and Chief Medical Officers from Arizona hospitals, it is clear to us that only options are a statewide mask mandate and shutdowns of non-essential businesses at the very least.
Gov. Ducey’s new Executive Orders encourage more community spread by expanding restaurant service and provides another opportunity for his administration to place blame on local officials. These are half-measures that give the perception of doing something, while actually doing nothing. If Gov. Ducey doesn’t want to make the tough decisions, he should sign a new Executive Order that allows local officials the authority to take the steps they deem necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 without being hamstrung by the Ducey administration.
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November 18th, 2020
Accountable Arizona issues statement following Governor Doug Ducey’s Press Conference
Accountable Arizona, the nonpartisan, grassroots group behind the Recall Doug Ducey campaign, finds Governor Doug Ducey’s failure today to mandate a statewide mask mandate in Arizona to be a complete lack of leadership, reckless, cruel, and unacceptable. What more does the Governor need to see before he acts in our best interests? How many more people need to get sick and die before he puts away partisan politics and our citizens first?
In June, when the Governor first failed to implement a statewide mask mandate, instead requiring cities and towns to institute their own orders, Arizona had 46,689 cases of COVID-19 and 1,312 deaths. Today, our state has 279,896 cases and 6,312 people have died. This was preventable and Arizonans deserve better! The time to act is now, and we remain resolute in our efforts to recall him from office. For more information on our efforts, to donate to our cause, and find how how to sign the petition, visit accountablearizona.org.
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September 18th, 2020
Arizona Group Calls for Recall of Governor Doug Ducey
Accountable Arizona files paperwork with the state to remove elected officialPhoenix, Ariz. – Sept. 18, 2020 – Accountable Arizona, a grassroots, nonpartisan, political action committee focused on eliminating the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, has filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office in their effort to recall Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey.
There have been other recent efforts to recall Arizona’s Governor this year due to his mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, however the previous effort focused on overturning business shutdowns. The Recall Doug Ducey campaign backed by Accountable Arizona, believes his efforts have not gone far enough to protect Arizona’s citizens during the pandemic.
“Arizona was one of the last states to shut down in order to flatten the curve, and despite promising to take a phased approach to reopening our state, Ducey did not follow any phased efforts and reopened our state fully, even as COVID-19 continued to overtake our communities, to disastrous results,” explained group founder Adam Halleck. “Arizona deserves better.”
The failed COVID-19 strategy implemented by Governor Ducey has led to more than 206,000 people in the state being diagnosed with coronavirus, and over 5,000 have lost their lives. Additionally, the financial impact has pushed Arizona into a recession; since March, more than 850,000 initial unemployment claims have been filed by Arizona workers(1) and more than 1,700 businesses have closed permanently (2). (Source 1: Arizona Commerce Authority/Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, Aug. 20, 2020 - https://www.azcommerce.com/oeo) (Source 2: Cheapism/Yelp, Aug. 13, 2020 - https://blog.cheapism.com/businesses-closed-by-coronavirus1/)
“Even as the diagnosed cases and deaths from COVID-19 have climbed, and people lost their livelihoods, Governor Ducey has failed to act. He refuses to implement a statewide mask mandate, despite the growing evidence that masks reduce community spread and can promote trust in the economy,” said Halleck. “Arizona is now at a turning point: as the weather cools from the hottest summer on record and children return to school, cases have the potential to spike again. We simply cannot afford more deaths or cripple the economy further.”
Accountable Arizona will have 120 days to collect 700,000 signatures statewide to recall Doug Ducey, and once the petitions are submitted, the state will have 70 days to confirm authenticity of signatures. For more information on where to sign a petition in support of the recall or to get involved, visit accountablearizona.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Recall Doug Ducey campaign
Recall Doug Ducey is a nonpartisan, grassroots effort to recall Arizona’s Governor, Doug Ducey, due to his inability to provide competent leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ducey’s indecision and inability to implement recommended safety procedures has both cost Arizona families lives as well as had a significant adverse impact on our business community. Our goal is to ensure the health and safety of all Arizonans by supporting strong, decisive leadership and the implementation of best preventative health practices throughout this pandemic.
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