Ducey condemns hate groups, dodges Confederate monuments issue

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday condemned the white supremacist groups that gathered in Virginia over the weekend to protest the removal of Confederate monuments. But the Republican governor again refused to heed calls from civil-rights leaders to take the lead in pushing to remove six Confederate monuments.

During a media availability at a state prison, Ducey said he "categorically, 100 percent condemns these hate groups, the KKK, the Klan, neo-Nazis, white nationalists."

"And I just wanted to be absolutely clear on that," he said in explaining a tweet he sent late Sunday. "I think we've got a great place to live here — Arizona is a place where 70 percent of our adult citizens came from somewhere else to call it home. So it's a very welcoming, inviting place. I want to keep it that way."

But the governor also said "it's not my desire or mission to tear down any monuments or memorials."

"We have a public process for this," Ducey said. "If the public wants to be engaged in this, I'd invite them to get engaged in it."

Community leaders call for removals

That's exactly what black leaders in Arizona have been doing for months. They say Ducey has done nothing to work to remove six Confederate monuments on public land that they say glorify the country's racist past.

In June, leaders from local NAACP chapters called on Ducey to remove the monuments, including one at the state Capitol that was erected in 1961. Others include a marker at Picacho Peak north of Tucson dedicated to Confederate soldiers who defended the area during a battle.

ROBERTS: Ducey condemns white supremacists, just not the monuments that glorify their cause

The monument at the Capitol is administered by the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission. Its members are appointed by legislative leaders, the chairman of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Phoenix mayor and the governor.

Highway names are handled by the Board on Geographic and Historic Names, which Ducey doesn't directly control but which includes a majority of nominees from executive departments and citizens who are appointed to their jobs by the governor.

Ducey criticized for inaction

Rep. Reginald Bolding, the only black state lawmaker and among those who called on Ducey to pull the monuments in June, said the governor has done nothing to encourage the boards to act.

"If the board was pushing for this, if the governor's office was pushing for this, if our legislative leaders, the Senate president and speaker of the House, if they were pushing for this, it would happen quickly," Bolding said. "My hope and my community's hope is he will join our call and help expedite the process."

Bolding told The Arizona Republic he'd independently met with Kevin DeMenna, Legislative Governmental Mall Commission chairman, to request a public discussion about the Capitol memorial in the meantime.

"I've been pushing to ensure that there is an agenda item on the calendar," Bolding said. "I quite frankly let him know that myself and members of my community felt like having that reference to the Confederacy on the Capitol mall was offensive, and he seemed open to at least having the conversation."

An agenda for the next commission meeting has not been posted. DeMenna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

King monument refurbished

As Arizona activists revived their fight against Confederate monuments Monday, the state wrapped up repairs on its Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.

It had become nearly impossible to read the engravings on the monument — located steps away from the Confederate memorial at the Capitol — and the profile of King had faded, too.

"The…memorial was dedicated back in 1984, I believe, so it's been out in the elements and the weather for 30-plus years," said state Department of Administration spokeswoman Megan Rose, disputing claims the memorial had been vandalized in the past.

"It's a problem if a memorial isn't able to be enjoyed and read by everyone," she said. "Through routine maintenance, we've been working on it the past couple months. We were thankful to find an artist to do it."

Republic reporter Maria Polletta contributed to this article.

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