Governor touts Yuma’s progress
Gov. Doug Ducey touted Arizona’s economic growth and education spending while delivering a localized State of the State address Thursday, name-checking some of the ways Yuma County has participated and benefited.
The shortened version of the speech he gave to the Legislature Jan. 14 hit many of the same issues, particularly education. He mentioned the 20 percent pay increase, over three years, for all K-12 teachers passed at the end of last year’s legislative session.
“These raises have been earned and deserved, and we’re going to protect them in this budget. And I want to thank all the school districts which have gone above and beyond the 20 percent pay increase,” he said, citing the Crane, Gadsden, Wellton, and Yuma elementary school districts and Yuma Union High School District as local examples.
He also noted several districts will be getting new school buses funded by Arizona’s portion of the settlement between Volkswagen and the 50 states over the automaker’s emissions fraud case.
He also urged support for his school safety plan, which includes additional campus-based police officers and counselors and a “STOP” order, or “a severe threat order of protection that protects Second Amendment rights, while keeping guns out of the hands of people who are a lethal threat.”
He said authorities in Florida could not act pre-emptively against the Parkland school shooter despite numerous warning signs. “I find that unacceptable, I hope you find that unacceptable, and I hope you tell your state legislator that you find that unacceptable,” he said.
Ducey continued to push for career-technical education, or CTE, to prepare high school students for careers in fields from pharmacy to banking, and said the site of his speech, Arizona Western College, is one of the campuses working toward that end.
Ducey also talked about the state’s population and economic growth, driven by business expansions including Almark Foods, MPW, Botanical Foods and Martech Medical Products in Yuma.
He also continued to acknowledge Yuma leaders’ role in drafting and completing the statewide Drought Contingency Plan one week earlier, and groups like the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce and Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation for contributing to the local economy.
“I want to thank the city of Yuma and this entire community for making the state proud. I want to thank our tribal communities and tribal leaders for their participation in the Drought Contingency Plan, and also helping us make this happen and be such a vital part of this community,” he concluded.
About 300 people attended the breakfast event at Arizona Western College where the governor spoke, sponsored by the chamber and other groups and businesses.
This is the fifth year Ducey has come to Yuma to deliver the speech in person.