Well, Secular Fam, we are one week out from this 2024 Election Day, and I can not WAIT to see you next Tuesday at the polls with your charisma, uniqueness, nerve, AND talent.
All of our hard work is (hopefully) about to pay off, and there’s a really good chance we won’t have definitive answers until several days after Election Day. If you don’t have a plan to keep your sanity in the subsequent days after November 5th, you should probably develop one.
My political focus is solidly on school board, countywide, and legislative races, but there is no escaping the national circus of the 2024 Presidential Election. I’ve been lucky this month to have two political tourists as guests in my townhouse in the ‘Slope. They both came from progressive states to lend a helping hand in Arizona, and hearing them talk about their own states’ political systems and processes had me feeling a certain type of way.
Like, their signature-gathering isn’t complicated. Their state legislatures and assemblies have not actively worked to destroy democracy or make it difficult to put ballot initiatives in front of voters. It’s wild! It’s almost like, when extremists aren’t running things, democracy and voter input become priorities.
JEANNE CASTEEN has a bachelor’s degree in human communication and history from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU and a master’s in education, also from ASU. Jeanne has over 11 years of experience teaching in Maricopa County’s public schools. In 2011, Jeanne completed the Emerge Arizona program and in 2012 became a school board member of the Creighton School District. She served as Board President from 2016 through 2020. In 2020, Ms. Casteen ran for Maricopa County School Superintendent, and came within 12,000 votes of winning. She has been awarded the Arizona School Public Relations Association Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Political Contributions to Education as well as the Arizona School Board Association’s All-Arizona School Board Member Award.
Author: Jeanne Casteen, Secular AZ Executive Director
JEANNE CASTEEN has a bachelor’s degree in human communication and history from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU and a master’s in education, also from ASU. Jeanne has over 11 years of experience teaching in Maricopa County’s public schools. In 2011, Jeanne completed the Emerge Arizona program and in 2012 became a school board member of the Creighton School District. She served as Board President from 2016 through 2020. In 2020, Ms. Casteen ran for Maricopa County School Superintendent, and came within 12,000 votes of winning. She has been awarded the Arizona School Public Relations Association Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Political Contributions to Education as well as the Arizona School Board Association’s All-Arizona School Board Member Award. View all posts by Jeanne Casteen, Secular AZ Executive Director →
