Rally Against "CrAZy" Planned Before Doug Ducey's State of State Speech | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
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Rally Against "CrAZy" Planned Before Doug Ducey's State of State Speech

A coalition of local advocacy groups are planning to rally outside the state capitol on Monday, to kick off this year's legislative session. The event is billed as a rally against "crAZy," and ProgressNow Arizona executive director Robbie Sherwood tells New Times it's an opportunity for something of a "pre-buttal...
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A coalition of local advocacy groups are planning to rally outside the state capitol on Monday, to kick off this year's legislative session.

The event is billed as a rally against "crAZy," and ProgressNow Arizona executive director Robbie Sherwood tells New Times it's an opportunity for something of a "pre-buttal to Governor Ducey's state of state address."

See also: -Ducey Takes Office as Governor, Pledges Fiscal Fix Without Tax Hike

The rally against "crAZy" will include groups involved in reproductive rights, environmentalism, education, immigrant rights, and more.

Although many of these groups have decried what this legislature has done before -- and the party breakdown hasn't changed with the recent election -- Sherwood says the purpose of this rally is to focus on solutions, more than what the legislature has done in the past.

"We hope that [Ducey] will actually take some of these ideas and run with them," Sherwood says, although he sounded as if he wasn't counting on that happening.

Of course, the Arizona Legislature has been a mainstay of the Daily Show over the years for some of the goofy things that have gone on there.

As for Ducey, he's pledged to fix the state's billion-dollar deficit without raising taxes. Even Governor Jan Brewer supported a tax increase to support the state's education system. She also took a lot of heat for some of the spending cuts implemented, like the elimination of certain types of transplants for Medicaid patients, even though some of those patients died.

Sherwood fears that Ducey -- who hasn't detailed exactly how he's going to make this fix -- might raid the state's education funding for this fix.

The groups rallying against "crAZy" will be meeting on the capitol lawn at 10 a.m. on Monday. You can also follow along with live tweets on Monday under the hashtag "NoCrAZy."

Got a tip? Send it to: Matthew Hendley.

Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX. Follow Matthew Hendley at @MatthewHendley.

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