Filed Apr 11, 2026
Six PVUSD parents, three coaches, one principal: an endorsement reel
— Campaign staff
The lede
What was unusual was who was not there.
On Saturday morning, a folding-chair Q&A in the back of Henderson Hardware on Cave Creek Road drew the first round of formal endorsements for Maria Salgado-Whitman's bid for the PVUSD Governing Board.
What was unusual was who was not there. No party chairs. No state legislators. No PAC representatives. No one from the dueling advocacy groups that have dominated school-board endorsement reels in Maricopa County.
What was there: ten people who actually do the work of educating, raising, or coaching kids in this district.
Janet Crowley, retired principal from 2008 to 2019, opened: 'The thing none of the superintendents did was sit down with a building plan and a class roster on the same table. Maria has done that. She brought it to my kitchen.'
Coach Aaron Begay said the part coaches don't usually say out loud: 'I don't care which party endorses her. I care that she knows the difference between a school that works and one running on duct tape.'
Maria spoke for about four minutes at the end. 'Not a single party chair on this list,' she said, in closing. 'By design.'
From VOTEGTR Demo Site — Maria Salgado-Whitman is a fictional candidate created for demonstration. This site is illustrative only and is not affiliated with any real campaign, committee, candidate, or school district. Paid for by VOTEGTR for demonstration purposes.
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