The Arizona Democratic Party is publicly calling for state Treasurer Doug Ducey to fire lobbyist Cathi Herrod as a policy adviser for Ducey's gubernatorial campaign.
Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, has become a popular target for local lefties recently because of her push for passage of controversial Senate Bill 1062, which many viewed as discriminatory toward the LGBT community.
See also:
-SB 1062 Protesters Demand Apology From Lobbyist Cathi Herrod
-No One Leading Race for Arizona Governor
The call for Ducey to rid his campaign of Herrod came yesterday from Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director D.J. Quinlan:
"SB1062, the legalized discrimination bill, cost Arizona business and hurt our economy -- and it wasn't even signed into law! Doug Ducey can't claim to be running for Governor to grow our economy if Cathi Herrod is one of his top policy advisors. There is no telling how much damage was done to Arizona's reputation during the embarrassing debate over SB 1062, but we know exactly who deserves blame for that damage: Cathi Herrod and the Center for Arizona Policy. A recent poll showed that Arizonans disapproved of SB 1062 by a 66% to 22% margin including a majority of Republican, Independent and Democratic voters. If Doug Ducey wants to be taken seriously as a candidate, he needs to show Cathi Herrod the door."While the Center for Arizona Policy and Herrod's agenda are nothing new to the state Legislature, the firestorm surrounding SB 1062 caused more media outlets to explain the conservative organization's sway at the state capitol, including the New York Times.
Despite Herrod's being on the policy committee for Ducey's campaign, Ducey said he would have vetoed SB 1062 if he were governor.
Additionally, Ducey isn't going to show Herrod the door from his gubernatorial campaign. His campaign spokesman gave us the following response from the candidate:
"One of the top lessons I've taken from the private sector is that if I'm only hearing one side of the story, I'm not doing my job. My policy committee is led by Sen. Jon Kyl, and I have purposefully built a coalition that includes diverse opinions, including [those of] Cathi Herrod and several others. If the Arizona Democratic Party is suggesting that I shut myself off and listen to only one side of any issue, my answer, quite simply, is 'No.'"Ducey, the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, is one of eight Republican candidates in what appears to be a wide-open GOP primary in the governor's race.
Recent polls have shown that a large portion of GOP voters are undecided, but poll results released yesterday by Public Policy Polling measured Ducey in fifth place among the eight Republicans, behind Secretary of State Ken Bennett, former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones, former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, and disbarred and disgraced former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
In a hypothetical match-up between Ducey and likely Democratic nominee Fred DuVal the poll shows a tie.
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