National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia is in town today to talk politics ahead of Hillary Clinton’s rally. Here are some questions we hope she gets asked: WHY IS THE NEA FUNDING AN ARIZONA BALLOT INITIATIVE THAT WILL HURT SCHOOLS? The NEA on October 3 contributed $250,000 to the effort to pass Proposition 206,…
Read MoreWhen former Arizona Manufacturers Council Chairman Steve Macias works the overnight shift, inspiration strikes. Almost like a certain presidential candidate’s late night Twitter storms. Economic meltdown and manufacturing job losses in Arizona during Great Recession was total disaster. So sad! BIG comeback now. Best state ever! Feds could take cues from Arizona economic development stakeholders –…
Read MoreGlenn Hamer looks back at Gov. Ducey’s trade mission to Canada in this edition of The Hamer Times. Before Gov. Ducey’s trade mission to Canada, the last time I visited Montreal was when the Expos were still playing in Olympic Stadium. As a native New Yorker I visited Montreal and Quebec a number of times…
Read MoreWhen the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry formed a committee under the leadership of Lea Marquez Peterson to oppose Proposition 206, we knew the trend lines weren’t in our favor. Across the country, minimum wage hikes appearing on ballots at the state and local level have been passing. But the proposed minimum wage hike that…
Read MoreSOMEWHERE ABOVE ONTARIO – Greetings from what has been an outstanding trade mission to Canada led by Gov. Doug Ducey. As is always the case, the governor has been a first class ambassador for Arizona, has been warmly received and has made it clear to everyone he’s met that Arizona is one of the finest…
Read MoreThanks to Wi-Fi, I’m writing this from 37,000 feet in the air on my way back from a Southwest Airlines celebration in Mexico City commemorating the airline’s one-year anniversary for international travel. It is so gratifying to see the ties between our nations deepen. Thank you, Southwest, for inviting me and my colleague from the…
Read MorePinal County recently earned the unenviable distinction of becoming the first county in the country to be left without a single provider in its healthcare exchange. These exchanges were a central pillar of the Affordable Care Act, and their demise means that for Pinal residents relying on subsidies that are provided only in the exchanges,…
Read MoreIn response to this article in the Mohave Valley Daily News, Arizona Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Glenn Hamer submitted the following letter to the editor in an attempt to correct and clarify the facts surrounding The Bill Williams Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014. Editor: The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes it…
Read MorePHOENIX (August 15, 2016) – Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer released the following statement regarding the announcement that an initiative to cap the compensation of healthcare leaders will not proceed to the ballot in November: “We are extremely pleased that an initiative that would have severely harmed Arizona’s healthcare sector…
Read MoreBallot initiatives presented to voters are sometimes convoluted and complicated. Some are simple. Some deservedly earn the response, “Do we really need to do that?” There are three initiatives headed to the statewide November ballot that are all bad for Arizona. Voters should reject all three. The first one is to legalize the recreational use…
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