Arizona had a hotly contested race for State Superintendent. The last one, John Huppenthal, was a strong supporter of Common Core who embarrassed himself by posting crude comments anonymously on blogs. When his name leaked, he was finished, beaten in the Republican primary by a little-known candidate named Diane Douglas.
In the November 4 election, Douglas ran against veteran educator David Garcia. A Democrat, Garcia received a slew of bipartisan endorsements. Douglas kept a low profile while Garcia racked up endorsements. The only issue associated with her was her opposition to Common Core.
Garcia seemed to be the only Democrat with a chance of winning. He had the experience and the credentials. But at last count, Douglas was leading 51-49, too close to call.
This blogger in Arizona wrote this:
“Douglas ran no campaign that I could see. I never saw a sign, never saw a TV ad. She rarely talked to the media, and she refused to debate Garcia. She had one issue: opposition to Common Core. The tea bagging Douglas had no endorsements whose names you’d recognize, and her own friggin’ website is absolutely empty under the section called “My Record and News.” It says to “check back” later; it still says that. Her online bio proudly celebrates her lack of professional experience:
“I did it on my own, for my own edification rather than through a college of “education” in order to add letters after my name.”
Got that? Education in quotes—not the real stuff like her learnin’. Douglas, who runs a stained glass store, did have one thing going for her: An R after her name. I’d wager a big bucket of cash that the old farts in Sun City and the wingers statewide who elected this Know Nothing couldn’t pick Douglas out of a lineup, or tell you one thing she stands for. Except she’s not a Democrat and she doesn’t like Barack Obama.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Yes, what a disappointment! Many of us are hoping that the end count will change the vote and Garcia will win. I’m not happy that he likes Common Core, but I think he has good points, otherwise. He definitely would be better than Huppenthal and Douglas. I think most of us who blog on here or are members of BATS are very disappointed in the election here in AZ. As the country went Republican, so did AZ, of course. I moved to AZ in 1977 after my husband was killed in a military jet. I love the landscape, the climate, many of the people. It has become my state, but I am truly saddened right now.
What kind of voting machines are used in AZ?
In Pima County we have paper ballots
The Barbarians have taken charge!
I think we are giving the (R”s) too much credit for being organized. If they are organized around anything, it seems to be hate. I hope for the best; wish for the best, but ultimately it still looks like ego, power, narcissism is alive in both parties. Of course I teach in LAUSD where these things run rampant. Familiar territory.
From the post and my quick look at Garcia’s Web site, I would think that Common Core and local control were hot-button issues for AZ. Frankly, I found Garcia’s teipd stance (read salami slicing) on CC very disappointing. Using a campaign strategy that tries to thread a needle by defending CC while suggesting different tests should have been an obvious mistake in a place like AZ. I susepct most voters just saw that as ruse to keep Common Core.
To me, this is another self-inflicted wound for the Democrats. Had Garcia taken the positions echoed here so often, that CC (read Race to the Top and NCLB waives) is not proven, was uncontitutionally forced on the states, requires onerous testing and data collection, I suspect he would have won by removing the only issue in the race. And the Obama administration has forced this very brutally on the states, as we’ve all complained about here. There’s more here than just personal hatred towards Mr. Obama.
But I’m a bit troubled by the writers comments on Douglas’s background. I do understand that single-issue candidates out of the wood work are usually bad news. But I’ve met far too many teachers, principals, and superintendents who push all of the Gates Foundation Common Core propaganda without ever bothering to get the facts. When’ve I’ve challenged them, referring to the work of people like Diane, Mercedes Schneider, and reporting from gold-standard sources like the Washington Post, I’m brushed off for not being “an educator”.
No, I just have degrees in chemistry from two of the best universities in the world and a law degree on top of that. But apparently I’m just not smart enought to understand “education”. It’s arrogance like that, with it’s ad hominem attacks and appeals to authority, that are killing public education. Many parents are tired of the non-stop reforms and mandates that are so blindly accpeted and pushed by our “educators”. Common core is just the biggest chicken that’s come home to roost.
“Douglas, who runs a stained glass store, did have one thing going for her: An R after her name. I’d wager a big bucket of cash that the old farts in Sun City and the wingers statewide who elected this Know Nothing couldn’t pick Douglas out of a lineup, or tell you one thing she stands for. Except she’s not a Democrat and she doesn’t like Barack Obama.”
Yeah, that just about sums up this past election. How else could a small majority of voters who are tired of the 1% (taking advantage) vote in the cronies of the rich and powerful? Well…who controls the message? Where were the voters who could stand up to the powerful few?
This past Tuesday’s election results spell the end of social programs and workers’ rights. God help us all.
The other issue? His last name is Garcia. When low-to-no information voters are presented with two names on a ballot, Garcia & Douglas, they’re going to go for Douglas.
While I am against Common Core, I was concerned by Douglas’ lack of experience in any teaching capacity. Something about her just gave me a bad feeling. I did not agree totally with Garcia’s positions on Common Core and assessment, he seemed like the only viable option. Once again, Arizona goes Republican….
Despite Douglas having ties to the tea party and her steadfast opposition to common core in Arizona, there are middle of the road Democrats and Republicans that agree with the need to end common core. Voters were willing to overlook her tea party affiliations in order to elect a superintendent who will bring the issue of common core into the public eye. It is time to scrutinize this hastily imposed Federal plan that was not adequately field tested prior to implementation. Douglas’ lack of educational background and her performance in the election should make both parties recognize how Common Core is a political issue with bipartisan opposition and bipartisan support. This topic should be addressed by each candidate in every race in the United States at the local, state, and national levels.
I fear most is the chaos, ineptitude and slow death by rules and regulations. What will she do with the just announced testing program?
Douglas appears to not have any experience outside her small world. Yet she will managing a large number of employees who will probably quickly learn to keep their head down and focus on their priorities – good, bad or indifferent. When she realizes she might need advice, she will probably turn to Cathi Herrod, head of the Center for Arizona Policy, lobbyist and sponsor of the most hideous legislation such as SB 1062 permitting discrimination based on religious beliefs. She likes religion in the classroom, allowing all parents to use vouchers and tax credits to avoid public schools, promotes alternatives to evolution, narrowly defined sex education with parents’ permission, healthy foods. The list is long. Fortunately the Arizona constitution requires separation of state and church, but this is probably a minor inconvenience to Herrod. Possibly the state Board of Education can act as a counterbalance but my hopes are not high.
I wouldn’t be surprised if her only way for her to eliminate this burden is to turn over all of public education to the charters as in New Orleans – or bring in Herrod’s staff..
Needless to say I am not optimistic, but just maybe Garcia can squeak by.
Don’t know what brand, but i do know that in Gilbert there was problem with ballots showing a list of candidates for a different district.
I heard last night on Rachel Maddow, that the Gilbert school board members who wanted to censor the AP Biology book, lost their elections.
It looks like to me that her Democratic opponent received donations from groups normally associated with the Republicans.
“But whether Douglas hangs on to win or not, political observers agree that Douglas, in an election that saw Republicans dominate other races for state offices, made a stronger-than-expected showing. She ran a low-key campaign, often avoiding the media spotlight, while her opponent drew several significant endorsements from Republicans and business groups that normally back the GOP in state races”.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2014/07/21/david-garcia-democrat-education-endorsement/12967307/
So maybe it’s unfair to cast dispersions on Douglas? Garcia seems to be a well entrenched educrat who also has worked in the Dept of Education in AZ under two Republicans:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/11/05/schools-chief-race-remains-air-douglas-strong-showing-draw-attention/18576867/
He supports charter schools:
http://dg4az.com/issues/one-size-does-not-fit-all/
So what makes him so attractive to those who don’t like common core, charter schools, Republican donors supporting corporate ed reform? That’s a description of him as a candidate. Was he really that much better a choice than Douglas? I don’t see that she received much corporate support from those who want common core and charter schools.
Maybe someone can research if she received corporate donations but I can’t find them. From the news accounts, it looks as if Garcia was the candidate who received Republican and ed reformer support. Maybe Garcia is the “teabagger” in this instance if you define “teabagger” as a Republican/ed reformer shill.
Sorry, After 12 yrs of a non-educator running the department and championing charters and vouchers, AZ was ready for an educator, even an imperfect one. Douglas won some of her votes on the CC issue, but mostly she benefited from being down ticket from the winning R candidate. BTW, the new governor is no fan of public education either. He wants to litigate more, in order to withhold the millions of dollars that the court said public schools were owed. The whole amount owed is $1.3 million. We’ll never see any of it under the new governor.
There are over 300,000 ballots that haven’t been counted. 210,000 early and provisional ballots from Maricopa County and 47,000 from Pima county. Garcia is not conceding and neither should we, until ALL ballots have been counted.
Unfortunately, Garcia didn’t run much of a campaign either. It’s as if neither he nor Douglas really wants the job.
On Garcia’s campaign,all a matter of perception and what the media chooses to report. He had hundreds of volunteers on phones and in the street. He gave a significant number of interviews plus additional exposure in arranged “debates” of one. however one would never know about this hubbub of activity from the media. I find that the major newspapers and TV outlets rarely consider education important news. A real test: Diane will be speaking in Phoenix in December; how much coverage? Arizona desperately needs of a big megaphone and some investigative reporters.
I will speak to Arizona School Boards Association on Dec 11
I saw David Garcia at multiple teacher leadership events over the past six months. Perhaps funding for a larger campaign was limited, but he led a great campaign on the ground. He was articulate and engaged with teachers at these events. I grieve the decision that appears to be made in Arizona, and I am desperately hoping that the final counted ballots will give the election to Garcia.
It sounds like Diane Douglas agrees with most of the people who post comments here. Help her by putting pressure on the other politicians in Arizona and Governor Ducey, who may very well support common core, and then you have started the education transformation in one more state. If Garcia wins, put the pressure on him. Work together to take back public schooling. Don’t assume R means the candidate is in opposition to your educational views and D supports them. I think there are certainly many politicians in the D category who have let down the teachers and education. The more the term “teabagger” is used to describe an individual or group who is interested in putting control of education back with the people, the teachers, parents, and students, the less credible the cries for equality become.
David Garcia ran a campaign that implied he was OK with the concept of common core. Garcia supports the (common core) standards and has said, if elected, he would focus on how to implement the standards “in a way that benefits Arizona students.” and “Accountability is important but we need to do it right. And to do it right, you need to measure what matters.” This sounds like hedging . . . or politician-speak!
Douglas opposes what she has called, “standards that are not going to prepare our children the way it needs to, it’s untested, unproven and it hasn’t been shown to be internationally benchmarked.” and “My vision is to put Arizona’s education back in the hands of Arizonans”, she says. “We know what’s best for our children and we don’t need people from Washington telling us how to educate our children.” It sure looks like someone the teachers, parents, and educators on this blog should consider supporting.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2014/10/28/for-diane-douglas-its-always-i-before-e-ideology-before-education
David Safier is my go-to guy on ed news in AZ. Don’t know much about Douglas, but she is definitely a Tea bagger.
‘Douglas’ view of what should be taught in our schools is limited to what the far right considers “patriotic” and “moral.” Under her leadership, schools would become a battleground where curriculum, textbooks and teachers would be scrutinized to make sure they taught about the world according to the Tea Party.”