(Photo by Howard Fischer - Capitol Media Services)

Gov. Doug Ducey delivering inaugural address in January 2015.

Doug Ducey gave his first speech as Arizona governor earlier this week when he took the oath of office. Next Monday, he will make his initial State of the State address.

Democratic state Sen. Steve Farley, Assistant Minority Leader, will be attending his ninth State of the State as a member of the legislature. He said he will be paying close attention to any specifics the governor talks about.

On the other side of the aisle, and the capitol mall, Republican State Representative Justin Olson of Mesa, the incoming Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, expects the budget and economy to be the big issues in Monday’s speech.

So, that’s a taste of what lawmakers want to hear in Governor Ducey’s State of the State address on Monday. But, what does it take to write one? To find out, I spoke with Matthew Benson, a director with the Phoenix public affairs and consulting firm Veridus. Before that, he was Governor Brewer’s Communications Director and was the lead writer on her 2013 State of the State address, although, he says that kind of happened by default.