18 June 2019

Ducey versus Giles: Not Seeing Eye-To-Eye On Citizen Question 2020 Census

An Opinion Piece yesterday over the "break in ranks" that pits the mayor of Mesa with the governor of Arizona:
Gov. Doug Ducey picks Trump over Arizona again - this time on census citizenship question
In Arizona, the resulting undercount would be just under 5 percent of the state's population, the highest in the nation, according to an analysis the Washington Post, which worked with Shorenstein to predict how states would be affected. . .
". . . If Trump is allowed to play politics with the census, not only will we lose out on congressional clout we've earned as one of the nation's fastest growing states. we'll also lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for transportation, education and the other programs.
And our governor is apparently OK with that.
BLOGGER NOTE: Sure looks like John Giles has made the Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census a part of his election campaign NextMesa . . . Please reminder that Latinos and other minorities who live here in Mesa do not have any loyalty to, nor do they as political bloc support or endorse Giles and were not part of the 73% who elected him to office in 2016 when Giles ran unopposed. .
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“The governor's comments stand,” spokesman Patrick Ptak told me on Monday. “Everyone that should legally be counted in the census, should be counted.”
Except, of course, that Ducey knows they won’t be counted.
Just as he knew that Trump’s threats to close the border would be a disaster for Arizona's economy yet supported it anyway.
Just as he knew that Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Mexico would be a disaster for Arizona's economy yet supported it anyway.
Now we stand to lose a congressional seat we've earned and potentially $322 million in federal funding, assuming the Shorenstein analysis holds.
It’s a strange position for an Arizona governor to take.
But an entirely understandable one for an ambitious second-termer looking to move up."
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Hmmmm... does John Giles crave that possible Congressional seat if the count goes the way he wants?
Giles caught-in-middle: looks like he wants to join the other two Congressmen from Arizona, incumbent conservative Republican Andy Biggs and freshman Progressive Democrat Greg Stanton.