Election – Special Election 2019 Q1 – Chandler Education Association

CEA is currently holding a special election for two vacant positions on the CEA Executive Board, as well as to fill additional CEA Site Representative positions. CEA members can vote online through Monday, September 16 at 5:00 pm.

Please note that this is not to replace currently elected Site Representatives … it is to fill Site Representative positions at schools that currently have none, or to add additional Site Representatives at sites that have not filled their allotment (1 site rep, plus 1 additional site rep per 10 members). You can see who your currently elected Site Representative is by visiting our Site Representative page.

If you are eligible to vote in this election, you can access the ballot by visiting our online voting page and logging in as follows:

Username: first initial plus your full last name, including spaces or hyphens, but without commas or apostrophes (e.g., the username for Sarah Howard-Mason would be SHoward-Mason)

Password: last 4 digits of your social security number (as on file with AEA)

While all voters can cast a ballot for our open Executive Board positions, voters will only be able to cast a ballot for Site Representatives at their site. Write-in options will be available for all positions, including sites where no candidate is listed. If you are not seeing the correct site listed when you access your ballot, please contact Shaun Creighton immediately for assistance.

The candidates for this election are as follows.

Executive Board

President (1-year term)

Katie Nash (Chandler High School)
Maria Hase (CTA – Humphrey Campus)

Corresponding Secretary (1-year term)

Jennifer Chastain (Andersen Elementary School)

Site Representative

Katie Nash
Chandler High School

When I think of Chandler Education Association, I can’t help but go back to the amazing District Rally in the Spring of 2018. What a beautiful sight – thousands of educators, dressed in red, united in the fight for our public schools. We demonstrated our collective power that day, a collective power that had not been seen in a long time. That energy has filled me with hope for our future and our students’ future.

This year, I hope to build membership through one on one conversations that are focused on getting to know each member and each site’s unique needs. Each member is a valuable part of our collective power. Together, we are stronger.

We can take on public education’s enemies when we are knowledgeable, organized and united. As part of our meetings and social events, I hope to share information about the forces that support privatization of schools. We will have training on power mapping and organizational strategies to help us stay focused and united – whether it be for a bond election, general election or anything else that influences public education.

The time is now. Together, organized and educated, we will win!

Maria Hase
CTA – Humphrey Campus

My name is Maria Hase, and I currently serve as CEA’s VP of Political Action. This is my fourth year in CUSD, and in October it will be my fourth year serving on CEA’s Executive Board. Prior to coming to CUSD, I was an AR in SUSD. This is my 14th year as an Arizona educator.

While VP of Political Action, we have passed an override, helped to prevent voucher expansion, helped to elect a teacher to the state legislature, helped to elect a teacher to our Governing Board, put on several candidate forums, had a presence and input at the Chandler Chamber as they developed their political agenda for the coming year, and had a presence at our school board meetings in support of CUSD’s Equity and Inclusion initiative. In addition, we allied ourselves with Valley Interfaith Project and Save Our Schools.

My vision is for CUSD to be the number one school district in the U.S. To be number one, we need to make sure all of us have the working conditions and resources necessary to do so. We need to be able to focus on our mission – educating Arizona’s future. We need to be paid appropriately for the hard work we do – enough that we do not need to work two, three, or more jobs to make ends meet. To accomplish this, I believe we need to hear from everyone in the trenches. We know what we need to do our jobs. We know what we are lacking. We need to raise our voices and our votes. As president, I will help us to do both.

My other vision is for CEA to travel to Washington, D.C. over spring break. To accomplish this vision, members, their friends, and family can pay their own way, or they can participate in a civic-engagement-athon to cover travel expenses. I am incredibly excited about this trip!

I am running for President because CUSD is an amazing district, but it can be even more amazing with YOUR input. I want to hear from you. I want to make YOUR day to day work life better. If YOUR day to day work life is better, YOUR STUDENTS’ day to day learning will be, too! It’s a WIN-WIN for everyone.

Vote for me, Maria Hase.