Douglas Anthony Ducey ( ; ; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and Republican politician who served as the 23rd governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 as well as Arizona State Treasurer from 2011 to 2015. He also was CEO of the ice cream parlor chain Cold Stone Creamery from 1995 to 2007.
Originally from Ohio, Ducey moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University (ASU), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. He began a career in sales and marketing and became chief executive officer of Cold Stone Creamery in 1995. He sold the company in 2007 and was elected Arizona state treasurer in 2010. Ducey won the 2014 Arizona Republican primary for Governor of Arizona and defeated Democratic businessman Fred DuVal in the general election; he took office on January 5, 2015. He was reelected by a wide margin in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee David Garcia.
Ducey's fellow Republican governors elected him chair of the Republican Governors Association for 2021 and co-chair in 2022. Ducey had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate, but declined to run in the 2024 election against incumbent Kyrsten Sinema. He left office on January 2, 2023, and was succeeded by Democrat Katie Hobbs. In June 2023, he was announced as CEO of Citizens for Free Enterprise, a political action committee focused on economic freedom.
Early life and education Ducey was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He is the son of Madeline Scott and Douglas Roscoe, a former member of the Toledo Police Department.
His parents divorced and in 1975 his mother married businessman Michael Ducey, to whom she remained married until 1981. Michael Ducey adopted Roscoe and his siblings in 1976; Roscoe's last name was legally changed to his adoptive father's.
Ducey graduated from St. John's Jesuit High School in 1982 and moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University (ASU) while working at Hensley & Co., the Anheuser-Busch distributor owned by the family of Cindy McCain. He graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance.
Career Business After graduating from ASU, Ducey joined Procter & Gamble and began a career in sales and marketing.Linda Bentley, Field of six vying for governor in Republican Primary, Sonoran News, August 6, 2014. Ducey worked as the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery from 1995 to 2007. When he and his business partner sold the company in 2007, Cold Stone had more than 1,400 locations in the United States and ten other countries. After the company's sale to Kahala, accusations of franchise mismanagement led Ducey to leave the organization.
He became the lead investor and was chairman of the board of iMemories, a photo and home movie digitizing service, from 2008 to 2012.
State Treasurer of Arizona (2011–2015)
In 2010 Ducey was elected state treasurer of Arizona, replacing Dean Martin. As Arizona's chief banker and investment officer, Ducey oversaw more than $12 billion in state assets and was an investment manager for local governments. The Treasurer serves as the chairman of Arizona's State Board of Investment and State Loan Commission, and as the state's surveyor general and a member of the State Land Selection Board. Ducey also served as the western region vice president for the National Association of State Treasurers, and was the president of the Western State Treasurers' Association.
During his tenure as state treasurer, Ducey created and championed Arizona Proposition 118, a ballot measure to simplify how schools receive funding from Arizona’s State Land Trust. Arizona voters passed Proposition 118 in 2012.
In 2010, Ducey opposed Proposition 204, an effort to create a permanent 1-cent-per-dollar sales tax for public education, transportation and health services. He formally launched a campaign to defeat the proposition, saying, "we don’t need the money" and "this money still does nothing to improve education". Proposition 204 failed, with 63.8% of voters opposing it.
Gubernatorial campaigns
2014 campaign
In July 2013 Ducey filed the paperwork necessary to explore the possibility of running for governor. On February 19, 2014, he formally announced his intention to seek the office at a rally in downtown Phoenix.
He received the endorsement of conservatives such as Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, as well as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Senator Jon Kyl. Ducey won the Republican nomination in the August primary, and was subsequently endorsed by the outgoing governor, Jan Brewer, along with Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake and other Republicans in Arizona's Congressional delegation. Ducey was endorsed by several organizations, including Arizona Right to Life and the Concerned Women for America.
Ducey defeated Democrat Fred DuVal and Libertarian Barry Hess in the November 4 general election.
2018 campaign
In 2018, Ducey announced his candidacy for reelection. Former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett challenged him in the Republican primary and lost by a wide margin.State of Arizona Official Canvass August 28, 2018. Ducey was reelected in November, defeating Democratic nominee David Garcia, 56%-42%.
Governor of Arizona (2015–2023)
Ducey was sworn into office on January 5, 2015.Suerth, Jessica (January 5, 2015). "Doug Ducey Sworn in as Arizona's 23rd Governor" , The State Press; retrieved January 19, 2015. Shortly after his term began, he instituted a state employee hiring freeze in an effort to balance the state budget.Schwarz, Hunter (January 12, 2015). "Arizona Governor Institutes State Employee Hiring Freeze, Calls for Income Tax Change". The Washington Post; retrieved January 19, 2015. In March 2015, Ducey signed a $9.1 billion budget that eliminated the state's $1.5 billion budget deficit by reducing spending without instituting a tax increase. Ducey has issued balanced budget proposals each fiscal year since 2015.
On January 15, 2015, Ducey signed an education bill requiring high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship test in order to graduate, making Arizona the first state to require this.Armario, Christine & Bob Christie (January 16, 2015). "States Consider Requiring US Citizenship Test for Graduation", abcnews.go.com; retrieved January 19, 2015.Porter, Caroline (January 16, 2015). "Arizona Is First State to Require Citizenship Exam to Graduate High School", The Wall Street Journal; retrieved January 19, 2015.
Ducey issued his first vetoes on March 30, 2015, of HB2150, an amendment to an animal cruelty law that would have excluded livestock animals from protection under that law, and HB2410, which would have prohibited police departments from establishing quotas for traffic citations.
In April 2016, Ducey signed into law legislation that would bar the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.
On March 31, 2017, Ducey signed SB1367, which mandates that doctors treat babies born alive during abortions or induced early deliveries. Late-term abortions had previously been performed in rare circumstances where the life of the baby and the mother was at risk; opponents of the bill said that the new restrictions would force doctors to provide pointless treatment to babies that were not expected to live.
On April 6, 2017, Ducey signed a major school voucher expansion bill, extending eligibility to every Arizona student.
On September 4, 2018, it was announced that Ducey had appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated upon the death of John McCain. Kyl resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018, and Ducey appointed outgoing Congresswoman Martha McSally, who had just lost the U.S. Senate race to Kyrsten Sinema, to replace him.
On February 22, 2019, President Donald Trump appointed Ducey to the bipartisan Council of Governors.Trump appoints Lamont to governors council, The Day, February 22, 2019.
In January 2021, Ducey announced that he would not seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in the 2022 election.
Leaving office on January 2, 2023, Ducey became Arizona's first Governor since Bruce Babbitt in 1986 who had fully served two four-year terms.
Education
After cuts to education during the Great Recession, Ducey increased funding to K-12 schools above inflation every year during his tenure. Since 2015, Arizona has added $4.5 billion in total new investments into schools and increased K-12 public school funding by $2.3 billion annually.
In 2015, Ducey led the campaign to pass Proposition 123, putting $3.5 billion into K-12 education over 10 years. The proposition, which passed the state legislature and was approved by voters, also settled a years-long lawsuit about education funding.
In 2018, in response to nationwide teacher protests, Ducey announced the "20x2020" plan, which would raise teacher salaries 20% over three years and restore Recession-era cuts to flexible school funding known as additional assistance. The promise was fulfilled on schedule through the fiscal year 2021 budget, which included $645 million in permanent funding for teacher raises. The promised restoration of additional assistance dollars has taken place ahead of schedule.
Also in 2018, Ducey signed a 20-year extension of Proposition 301, a voter-approved initiative passed in 2000 and championed by then-Governor Jane Hull. The proposition provides about $667 million annually to Arizona’s K-12 public schools, universities, community colleges, and tribal schools through a 0.6% sales tax.
In 2017, Ducey implemented the first-ever dedicated funding for school counselors and the establishment of the Arizona Teachers Academy, a partnership with Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University that enables future Arizona public school teachers to graduate with a teaching degree debt-free.
Civics On January 16, 2015, Ducey signed the American Civics Act, which requires that all Arizona students pass a basic civics test before graduating from high school. It was the first bill he signed, making Arizona the first state in the country to enact such a law. Since its enactment, 34 states have passed similar legislation.
In 2018, Ducey proclaimed September 25 the inaugural Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Celebration Day, in honor of Sandra Day O’Connor’s dedication to civics and her swearing-in to the Supreme Court on September 25, 1981. In March 2020, he signed into law the Civics Celebration Day bill, which requires schools to dedicate the majority of classroom instruction to civics on September 25.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Ducey opposed the Affordable Care Act, saying, "It's no secret Obamacare has been a disaster for Arizona and that I want it repealed and replaced." On July 30, 2017, the Arizona Republic reported that Ducey had urged Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain to vote for legislation to repeal and replace it. McCain ultimately voted against repeal.
In September 2017, Ducey released a statement endorsing the Graham–Cassidy health care amendment as "the best path forward to repeal and replace Obamacare." On September 20, he said his staff was analyzing the Graham–Cassidy bill's effects on the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and asserted that the ACA had been a failure. He admitted he had not seen the final version of the bill but said he suspected it would be “the longest possible transition so that we can move people from Medicaid into a superior insurance product."
Confederate monuments In August 2017, after violence by protesters at a gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, Ducey said in response to a reporter's question that he had no interest in removing Confederate monuments from public lands in Arizona. He condemned groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis and said, "It's important that people know our history... I don't think we should try to hide our history."
LGBT rights and same-sex marriage