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State Superintendent of Public Instruction recall, Arizona (2015)
| State Superintendent of Public Instruction recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2014 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Diane Douglas from the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona was launched in November 2014. Douglas, who narrowly won election to the office on November 4, 2014, faced recall threats almost two months prior to her swearing-in as superintendent. An online group called Recall Diane Douglas stated that they would start gathering petitions for a recall in July 2015 after a legally required six-month waiting period.[1] The group subsequently delayed the start of the drive further due to the summer heat in Arizona.[2]
On September 1, 2015, the head of the recall effort, Max Goshert, submitted the paperwork to the Arizona Secretary of State to start collecting signatures for the effort. The deadline to collect 366,128 valid signatures was December 30, 2015.[3]
Max Goshert, the leader of the campaign to recall Douglas, said on December 30 that the effort had failed. He reported that the campaign had collected 40,000 signatures.[4]
Douglas was also the subject of a recall attempt when she was a member of the Governing Board of the Peoria Unified School District.[5]
Recall supporters
Anthony Espinoza, an elementary school teacher in Phoenix, first broached the subject of recalling Douglas by creating a Recall Diane Douglas Facebook page. Espinoza later created a website for the recall effort, which made the following arguments for removing Douglas from office:
| “ |
Diane Douglas has no experience teaching a classroom of children or enacting public policy. She ran a shadow campaign, only speaking to friendly conservative media and failing to show up to 16 public events. After being declared the winner, she has yet to discuss what plans she has to improve education in the state of Arizona aside from attempting to do something that she has no legal authority to accomplish: repealing Common Core. It is for the good of the students, parents, teachers and schools of Arizona that we must work together to Recall Diane Douglas! [6] |
” |
| —Recall Diane Douglas, (2014) | ||
The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas filed political committee paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State on November 24, 2014.[8]
Supporter objection to vote on certificate revocation
On May 18, 2015, the Arizona State Board of Education voted 7-1 to revoke the teaching certifications of four teachers based on recent convictions. Certifications for Nicole Renee Wooten, Carlos Pineda Borja and Joseph Robert Stephenson were revoked following convictions for attempted sexual conduct with a minor or sexual conduct with a minor. Michael Gregory Oakleaf lost his certification following convictions on five counts of attempted molestation of a child and one count of molestation of a child.[9] Superintendent Douglas was the lone vote opposing revocation according to the board's minutes. Douglas noted that she agreed with revocation of the certifications but that the board lacked proper legal documents including official certificates to properly follow through on the vote.[10]
Recall supporters with the Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas issued the following press release regarding Douglas's vote:
| “ |
We feel this dissent and her continuous feud with the Arizona Board of Education proves that Superintendent Douglas is more focused on politicking and increasing the power of her position than education and increasing student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and overall school performance in Arizona...She continues to demonstrate her inability to do what’s in the best interest of Arizona schools and students. [6] |
” |
| —Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas (2015)[11] | ||
Legal complaint against Douglas' chief of staff
On September 8, 2015, the organization behind the recall effort filed a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's office contending Douglas' chief of staff used his official authority to influence the recall effort. The complaint centers on an e-mail sent by Arizona Department of Education Chief of Staff Michael Bradley to the Arizona Alliance of Black School Educators from Bradley's personal account. The e-mail questioned whether the organization supported the recall campaign, and why the education organization's website provided information about the effort. The organization subsequently removed the information from its website. “If he’s doing this to this one organization. What is he doing that we are not aware of?"[12] Goshert, the head of the recall effort, asked reporters. Arizona Department of Education spokesman Charles Tack confirmed Bradley's e-mail, but said it was sent as a curious private citizen while Bradley was on sick leave from the Department of Education, and so there were no legal issues with Bradley's actions.[12] The Arizona Attorney General's office declined to pursue the complaint.[13]
Coalition reaches 100,000 signatures
The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas announced in October 2015 that it had gathered about 100,000 signatures to recall Diane Douglas, according to leader Max Goshert. “We’re right on track based on the amount of feedback we’ve gotten from our volunteers and the activity that we’ve been measuring going on," he said.[14]
More than 1,000 volunteers in the state were working to collect signatures at the time of the announcement. The preliminary count of signatures made about one-fourth of the 366,128 required by December 30 to trigger a recall election.[14][15]
Day of Action
The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas held a "Day of Action" over the second weekend of November. Volunteers gathered signatures in more than a dozen cities at libraries, post offices, coffee houses and craft fairs.[16]
Thanksgiving weekend
The "Recall Diane Douglas" Facebook group encouraged people to discuss recalling Douglas over the Thanksgiving weekend and to sign up petitioners in Black Friday shopping lines. When local ABC affiliate ABC15 asked for a progress report, the group would not give an exact number but said it had tens of thousands of valid signatures. The following week, the Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas announced that it did not have a precise count but had fewer than 100,000 signatures, falling far short of the required 366,000.[17][18]
Petition fails
Max Goshert, the leader of the campaign to recall Douglas, said on December 30 that the effort had failed. He reported that the campaign had collected 40,000 signatures.[19]
Recall opponents
Douglas did not provide a response to interview requests by The Arizona Republic on November 18, 2014.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
State law prevents petitioners from seeking the recall of public officials for at least six months after their election to office. Once the six-month period ends, organizers must create a recall committee and gather petitions equal to 25 percent of the ballots cast in the 2014 general election to force a recall election. There were 1.4 million ballots submitted on November 4, 2014, which means that recall supporters need 366,128 signatures from registered voters to proceed with an election.[1][3]
State profile
| Demographic data for Arizona | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,817,565 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 113,594 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 78.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 4.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 30.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,255 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Arizona. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Arizona
Arizona voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Arizona coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Arizona
- United States congressional delegations from Arizona
- Public policy in Arizona
- Endorsers in Arizona
- Arizona fact checks
- More...
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Diane + Douglas + Superintendent + recall + Arizona"
See also
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2014
- Diane Douglas
- Arizona down ballot state executive elections, 2014
External links
- Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Recall Diane Douglas Facebook page
- Recall Diane Douglas website
- Diane Douglas 2014 campaign website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Arizona Republic, "Schools chief Diane Douglas already faces recall threats," November 17, 2014
- ↑ Howard Fischer, Arizona Capital Times, "Organizers to delay start of official Diane Douglas recall effort," July 7, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Howard Fischer, Verde Independent, "UPDATE: Diane Douglas recall officially underway," September 1, 2015
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, "Chairman: Effort to recall Superintendent Diane Douglas fails," December 30, 2015
- ↑ AZCentral.com, "Peoria Unified parents mount recall campaign against Douglas," April 22, 2010
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Recall Diane Douglas, "Why Recall Douglas?" accessed November 18, 2014
- ↑ 12 News & The Arizona Republic, "Give Diane Douglas a chance, people," November 24, 2014
- ↑ Arizona State Board of Education, "Agenda May 18, 2015," May 18, 2015
- ↑ Arizona State Board of Education, "Summary of Board Action," May 18, 2015
- ↑ Coalition to Recall Douglas, "The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas calls the Superintendent’s vote against revoking teaching certificates of convicted offenders “reckless and risking the safety and welfare of Arizona students”," May 26, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Alexandra Olgin, 91.5 KJZZ, "Recall group files legal complaint against Diane Douglas' chief of staff," September 8, 2015
- ↑ Miriam Wasser, Phoenix News Times, "Arizona Ag refuses to investigate complaint by coalition to recall Diane Douglas," September 22, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Alexandra Olgin, 91.5 KJZZ, "Group to recall Diane Douglas: We have 100,000 signatures so far," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Howard Fischer, Verde Independent, "UPDATE: Diane Douglas recall officially underway," September 1, 2015
- ↑ Stina Sieg, KJZZ, "Volunteers gather signatures in effort to recall Arizona superintendent Diane Douglas," November 14, 2015
- ↑ ABC15, "Groups spreads anti-Diane Douglas movement on holidays," November 26, 2015
- ↑ Ricardo Cano, The Arizona Republic, "Diane Douglas recall bid way short of signatures," December 1, 2015
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, "Chairman: Effort to recall Superintendent Diane Douglas fails," December 30, 2015
