Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s March executive order suggesting Arizonans stay home was extended as a new order on April 30, but both officially expired on Friday, May 15.
Over the course of the last two weeks, Ducey has reopened most of what his executive orders closed, and loosened what little restrictions his order imposed on ordinary Arizonans.
The enforcement of Ducey’s orders were lax at best. While Verde Valley law enforcement forced business owners to lock up tables on their patios to prevent customers from dining at them after picking up to-go orders, police in Flagstaff and in many Phoenix area communities let customer dine on patios so long as restaurateurs did not actively “serve” them.
Some communities wrapped park playgrounds in caution tape or orange mesh while others merely posted signs but let parents ostensibly use the playgrounds as they saw fit.
No town wanted to have their police officers arresting toddlers for using the slides in defiance of a nebulous order.
Ducey’s reopenings this month came quickly. For instance, we reported just last week that Ducey was reopening gymnasiums and public pools.
Gym owners were blindsided as they were given no warning and many are still closed not because of any restriction but because they’re still calling staff back to work. Public pools that had put hiring lifeguards on hold are now scrambling to vet and hire them.
Oh, and Ducey’s reopening of pools and gyms also applied to reopening spas and massage therapy studios. Surprised? So was everyone else because Ducey didn’t mention that at the press conference; it just appeared in the documents the Governor’s Office released.
Ducey’s turnaround came at breakneck speed but not because the threat from COVID-19 has completely dissipated nor because President Donald Trump was set to visit the state in the days after Ducey’s April 30 press conference, but rather because the governor was facing an open rebellion in the Arizona State Legislature, lead by Arizona Rep. Kelly Townsend [R-District 16], the Republican Party whip, as well as a recall petition from conservatives angry over how his closures harmed Arizona’s economy.
Ducey’s Republican allies have a four-seat majority in the State Senate and a two-seat majority in the State House of Representatives, so they could overrule his executive orders along a party-line vote should they choose, although a handful of Arizona’s Democrats and Republicans would likely switch sides in such a vote.
Facing term limits as governor in 2022, Ducey’s likely endgame is to run for late U.S. Sen. John McCain’s Senate seat, which is why he first appointed retired U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl — figuring he would step aside in 2022 like a senior statesman — then Marthy McSally, who barely lost her senatorial run in 2018, figuring he could defeat her in the 2022 primary.
If Ducey loses the support of his allies, corporate donors and small businesses, his future plans are toast.
All this political theater aside, Arizona has mostly opened up and businesses that have been closed for four, six or eight weeks, depending on the industry, are desperate to have customers.
Please help our local businesses recover. Some are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy due to being closed during normally the busiest time in Arizona. Many took out loans to pay rent or their staff and may not have gotten the best deal or interest rate because they were applied for in a rush. Many business owners kept paying their staff even with the doors closed because they felt it was the right thing to do for their workers. Others applied for state or federal loans they did not get or weren’t substantial.
If you feel like you have to wear a mask and/or gloves at all times to protect your personal health or the health of others, do it, but don’t harass those who don’t.
If you don’t think you need to wear a mask, then don’t, but don’t harass those who do.
If you do dine in, be kind to your wait staff, hosts and hostesses. Understand the restrictions owners impose.
If you don’t feel comfortable dining in a restaurant, continue ordering takeout. As far as restaurants’ kitchens are concerned, a meal is a meal. Be kind to your delivery drivers or the staff you speak with at takeout.
According to reporters looking into the Bitcoin Prime Tesla facts, federal stimulus funds were issued to help people pay rent and buy groceries but also to keep the economy from total collapse, so please share what you can with the workers who may be more needy than you. Shop local whenever you can.
“We are all in this together” is a phrase not merely about the health component of the pandemic but the economic front as well.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
