For once, its not media from the East pronouncing Arizona the land of heartless cowboys who just want to toss out any one who steps over the border. This time it’s meat and potatoes politics—its recall time.
Launched early this week, the efforts to recall Diane Douglas, Arizona Superintendent of Schools, got underway after months of planning. The group now faces the tall task of garnering about 400,000 signatures in four months to get the petition on the governor’s desk and ask him to call for a special election.
Regardless of which side of the fence you post yourself, it is a political story ripe with intrigue and farce. She’s filed suit against the Board of Education demanding that the board staff report to her. She’s gone toe to toe with the governor.
In her own words, concerning her lack of education and experience to run the state’s schools she says, “I did it on my own edification rather than through a college of education in order to add letters to my name.”
She is not without friends. One supporter notes that recall should be about breaking the law and not about differences in opinion. The differences come in what her detractors say is lack of forward planning and knowledge of little more than a hatred of common core.
In her State of Education speech in January, they say, she outlined numerous areas in which Arizona schools suffer but offered no solution or plan for change.
Still others believe its sour grapes over a close campaign in which she slid by Democrat David Garcia.
Anthony Espinoza and Max Goshert created the political action committee to recall Douglas shortly after the election and have been moving full steam ahead. A recall is difficult at best but to watch American politics in the works remains fascinating.
Tomorrow morning, supporters of the recall are invited to pick up and sign petitions at Buzzberry in Scottsdale. Paradise Valley School Board member Sue Skidmore will be in attendance.
“I will be at Buzzberry & Bistro in Scottsdale on Friday, September 11 with Recall Diane Douglas petitions for the sake of ALL our children.”
Come to sign. Come to have coffee. Come to see American politics in action.
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