The two Democratic contenders to become Arizona’s next governor will be in Tucson Thursday for a town hall to discuss public education.
The event, which is sponsored by the Arizona Education Association, will happen at Pueblo High School, 3500 S. 12th Ave., from 6 to 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey was not invited to the event, according to AEA spokesperson Sheenae Shannon.
The two Democrats running to unseat Ducey are Sen. Steve Farley, a longtime state lawmaker from Tucson, and David Garcia, the 2014 Democratic nominee for superintendent of public instruction.
Topics will include public education funding, school vouchers and Arizona’s teacher shortage. The forum will be moderated by the Metropolitan Education Commission’s Youth Advisory Council/Tucson Teen Congress.
Farley has served in the Legislature since he was first elected in 2006 and currently serves as assistant Democratic leader in the state Senate.
Garcia is a university professor who made his political debut in 2014, when he lost the race to become Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction to Diane Douglas.
Both men have declared public education as their main policy platform.
Republicans have a strong voter-registration advantage in Arizona, and political pollsters give Ducey the edge in his 2018 bid for re-election.
