Flagstaff, Tucson mayors say Gov. Doug Ducey has made no direct contact during most of the coronavirus pandemic

Arizona mayors who broke with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey's approach to the coronavirus said the governor has made no direct contact since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flagstaff and Tucson mayors Coral Evans and Regina Romero told The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast they had communication with the Ducey administration early on in the pandemic through morning conference calls with Ben Blink, the governor's policy adviser for local governments. However, the calls have since ceased. 

Evans and Romero were the first in the state to issue proclamations in mid-March, closing certain businesses and public gathering spaces. Gov. Ducey issued a statewide stay-at-home March 30. 

In the May 27 interviews, Evans and Romero said their proactive approaches were in response to information from scientists and public health officials. They also spoke about the plight of their residents and what further action will be needed to revive their cities' economies and public health.

Mayor Evans expressed displeasure with the governor, who has said he wants Arizona to take unified approach in combating COVID-19. 

"It seems to me that if we want to speak as one voice, then everybody would have the opportunity to be part of the conversation," Evans told national political reporters Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen. "It makes no sense to me that the mayors that care so passionately about their communities never had a conversation with the governor the entire time this has been going on." 

In this episode you'll hear Evans and Romero's thoughts on:

• Why they issued proclamations shutting down their cities before Gov. Ducey's stay-at-home order.
• The state response to COVID-19.
• Partisan politics imbued in coronavirus discourse.
• The distribution of federal relief funding and what it will be used for 

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