Peoria Unified Candidate Forum | An Appeal From One East Valley Board Member
West Valley and East Valley school districts are fighting to make education about education again!
WEST VALLEY
On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the Peoria Chamber of Commerce and the Peoria Independent partnered with Peoria Unified School District to host a candidate forum. Six candidates are vying for three open seats.
Since school board races are only nonpartisan in theory, I’ve included the ideological makeup of each candidate:
Janelle Bowles — Conservative/Republican
Jeff Tobey — Conservative/Republican
David Sandoval — Liberal/Democrat
Melissa Girmscheid — Liberal/Democrat
Rebecca Proudfit — Liberal/Democrat (identifies as “R”)
Mikah Dyer — Liberal/Teenager
I recently exposed the leftist mindset and intentions of Sandoval, Girmscheid, and Dyer here. I’ve written extensively about the chameleon Proudfit here and here.
It’s impossible to believe the Chamber and PUSD expected us to take the event seriously after inviting Philip Haldiman—a no-list actor turned Peoria Independent spam editor—to serve as moderator. Attendees immediately recognized Haldiman as the prolific hit piece writer who maligns Peoria conservatives, including myself. Read my response to his attention-seeking article against me.
Dyer was the first speaker at the forum. He introduced himself by scolding (conservative) adults who don’t respond favorably to his foot-stomping demand that we “let students lead.” Sorry, but a financially dependent high school graduate who just registered to vote is not qualified to govern a district with 35,000+ students and a runaway budget.
Dyer’s activism has gone too far. Anyone who votes for him is dimwitted and irresponsible.
Girmscheid boasts about being a science teacher but can’t bring herself to acknowledge the biological, binary reality of male and female. Of course, we all leaned forward when it was Proudfit’s turn to clearly state her position on transgender bathroom policies…the joke’s on us. My oversimplified meme sums up the incumbent’s performance:
Tobey and Bowles are the only serious candidates running for the Peoria school board. If these two join PUSD Board Member Heather Rooks, the district knows it will cease to be business as usual.
Watch the candidate forum and draw your own conclusions.
EAST VALLEY
Mesa Public Schools is trending to become Arizona’s most morally bankrupt district—a position currently held by Scottsdale Unified and Tucson Unified.
MPS Board Member Rachel Walden is the sole voice of reason fighting to uphold truth and transparency. Like Rooks, Walden is dealing with a bad appointment by the washed-up Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson. And, like Proudfit, Courtney Davis is a liberal/Democrat who mistakenly checked the “R” box during her voting registration.
The difference is Davis owns the fact that she’s aligned with her Democrat colleagues. But, of course, the “nonpartisan school board race” narrative wouldn’t sell unless one of them also identified as “Independent”. The following 12 News report is a shameless contradiction you must see for yourself:
From the moment she launched her school board campaign, Walden has helped expose numerous parental rights violations in MPS, including the district’s dangerous transgender plan. Below is a snapshot of Walden’s earnest appeal to conservative voters in the East Valley. Her full statement can be read here.
UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING
It’s one thing to do your research and make an informed decision, but when conservatives capitulate to liberals, that’s not “reaching across the aisle”—that’s a sellout. I even found a Proverb that applies here:
“A good person who gives in to evil people is like a muddy spring or a dirty well”—Prov. 25:26
By now you know how I feel about low-IQ voting. Pay attention to legitimate, outspoken conservatives telling you the truth instead of what you want to hear. They are running on a platform to eliminate all the LGBTQ/CRT/SEL doctrine from the curriculum, increase student safety on campus, support good teachers, and bring transparency to the district level.
In the West Valley, only vote for Jeff Tobey and Janelle Bowles. Board Member Heather Rooks is seated until 2026. Together, they are the (moral and governing) majority.
In the East Valley, only vote for Ed Steele and Sharon Benson. Board Member Rachel Walden is seated until 2026. Together, they are the (moral and governing) majority.
Don’t waste your third vote on Democrats—whether they identify as one or not.
If leftists and morally ambiguous candidates are elected in November, there will only be change for the worse in Peoria Unified School District and Mesa Public Schools.