October 9, 2022 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Mail ballots going out as Election 2022 heads to climax BY KEN SAIN AND PAUL MARYNIAK News Staff
Mail ballots for the Nov. 8 General Election will be hitting Chandler and Sun Lakes mailboxes later this week and they promise to take voters more than a few minutes to complete them. While races for state offices, Congressional seats and an Arizona seat in the U.S. Senate have been garnering most of the attention, Chandler residents also have a few races to decide
that are of more local interest – namely two seats on the five-person Chandler Unified School District Governing Board and the two state House seats and the state Senate seat for Legislative District 13, which includes south Chandler, Sun Lakes and part of Gilbert. There also are 10 propositions on the ballot to weight that cover a wide variety of issues, including the creation of a Lieutenant governor position and a .01% sales tax to support fire districts.
Chandler Unified race
The election in Chandler Unified involves many issues as the district grapples with a mental health crisis, concerns about school safety, falling test scores in the wake of the pandemic’s disruption, teacher and staff support shortages and, with the failure of a challenge to the universal school voucher program, intensified competition from private schools. Also hanging over the Chandler
Unified race is a push for more parental control over education. Two of the five candidates –Charlotte Golla and Kurt Rohrs – are endorsed by the Purple for Parents social group that started in Arizona in 2018 in reaction to the Red for Ed movement. The other three candidates are Marilou Estes, Patti Serrano and incumbent Lara Bruner. Purple for Parents fought against mask mandates and is advocating See
ELEX on page 12
Consultant offers mixed assessment of city’s diversity efforts BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
Near the end of a presentation on the results of Chandler’s long-awaited Diversity, Equality and Inclusion study, one City Council member said it appeared to contain mostly good news. “From what I’m seeing here, … we don’t have a major issue glaring, systemic racism,” Councilman Rene Lopez said. “There’s groups out there that don’t feel like they’re purposely being
excluded.” Not so, said Regina Romeo, the consultant brought in to explain the results of the study that Council approved in October of last year. “I wouldn’t say that,” said Romeo, the Diversity Equality Inclusion program leader for CPS HR, the consulting company hired to do the study. She said that since this is the city’s first DEI study, it provides a baseline to measure improvement. Romeo added that diversity, equality and inclusion
comprise an ongoing issue that must continually be addressed. One major issue not specifically part of the study – but looms over the results and what Council will do with them – is a non-discrimination ordinance. Chandler is the largest city in Arizona without one and council members have been facing pressure to change that. Romeo said the topic came up often during roundtable discussions with a panel of 25 diverse community leaders
who were broken into subgroups of five that met at least twice to discuss specific topics. They also met as the larger group twice. “The NDO gets its own slide because this came up in pretty much every group,” Romeo said. She said she informed the groups that was a decision for Council and it was not her role to advocate for or against an NDO. “There were people who were (saySee
DIVERSITY on page 3
County pound poster dog’s Aiming high death suggests problems BY CECILIA CHAN Staff Writer
Rookie was the face of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control’s part in a national campaign early this year as it tried to ease overcrowding at its Phoenix and Mesa shelters. Described as “a giant pup who loves to run zoomies in the yard and play outside, but what he really loves is getting attention,” the 3-year-old Rottweiler-mix was photographed smiling as his head was being scratched. Four days after the Bissell Pet Foundation’s national Empty the Shelters campaign ended on May 15, Rookie was euthanized. See
SHELTER on page 24
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Leonardo Ollervides, 8, played ring toss with pumpkins at the Chandler Contigo Kickoff Festival last month. The festival continues through Oct. 15 at various locations that are listed at chadleraz.gov. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
Ex-Chandler coach in eye of ASU gridiron storm .Sports . . . . . . . . Page 43 8/5/22 1:13 PM
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