PHOENIX — An effort to recall Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has failed.
Accountable Arizona, the group behind the recall effort, said it was the only way to hold the governor accountable for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in Arizona.
“When we filed we thought we would be successful,” Accountable Arizona Chairman Adam Halleck said. “We thought we would have more support from elected officials on both sides of the aisle who could see their constituents were dying and getting sick at a high number.”
It turned out to be a grave miscalculation. Only two state representatives, Isela Blanc (D) from Tempe and (D) Diego Rodriguez from Phoenix got behind the effort, including those who routinely criticized the governor’s handling of COVID-19.
“They can write mean tweets and they can say mean things about him but when we actually asked them they refused to,” Halleck said.
The recall effort collected about 150,000 signatures. It needed 594,111 valid signatures by January 16, 2021 to force a special election. Reaching the goal proved impossible. The pandemic too much of an obstacle.
“The last thing we want to do is exasperate the virus,” Halleck said.
