Surprise trio vying for 2 school board seats

By Delarita Ford
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

Three candidates filed by the July 6 deadline to be contenders for two seats on the five-member Dysart Unified School District Governing Board.

All familiar faces in the local political arena, the candidates are vying for the seats currently occupied by Jennifer Drake, whose term ends next year, and Dawn Densmore, who was elected to serve two terms from 2018-2027.

According to the Maricopa County Elections and District Data Dashboard, the following candidates are pursuing the two vacancies for the four-year board member terms:

• William Coniam filed on June 26 with 510 signatures. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran and father of two children who attend Dysart schools has lived in Surprise for 17 years. He is serving his third appointed term on the Surprise Board of Trustees. Reappointed by a unanimous city council vote in 2022, he has served as board chair for the past two years. Coniam had an unsuccessful run on for the school board in 2022 and as a write-in candidate in 2024.

• Densmore turned in 475 signatures on July 6. Noted to receive just as much accolades as criticim during her terms, Densmore received the Arizona School Board Member of the Year award from the Arizona Coalition of School Board Members Excellence in Education Awards in 2021. Densmore’s initial campaign for school board was in 2018 as a successful write-in candidate, and she was re-elected in 2022.

• Lisa Everett filed on July 6, with 510 signatures. A community activist, she is the former Legislative District 29 Chair. She is a grandmother who said she is interested in supporting the Dysart community, impacting students and faculty.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Delarita Ford can be reached at dford@iniusa.org. Submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Delarita Ford
Lead Reporter | Surprise

dford@iniusa.org

Meet Delarita
Delarita Ford originally joined Independent Newspapers Incorporated, now Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 1997, as a general assignment reporter for the Delaware State News daily paper after starting her journalism career in Maryland in 1994, where she honed her skills by writing obituaries, covering community news from births to deaths, education to legislation and more. As a reporter, she has had the opportunity to cover sitting and former U.S. presidential visits in Baltimore, Delaware, and Arizona.

Community: One of the few seasoned journalists who still enjoys covering community events, she can be found with a reporter’s pad taking notes, her phone taking pictures while capturing life’s moments to memorialize them in print for the local newspapers and for the active-adult community where she lives. She maintains a presence with the Black media and the National Association of Black Journalists to encourage peers, socialize, and mentor younger writers.

Education: Life learner who learns from life. Aside from the collegiate education received, she got the best training from on-the-job experience with former editors who went through copy with a red pen and demanded the best writing for hard news and feature stories. 

Random Fact: While a Delaware State News reporter, she could call then Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, usually late at night if a quote or input was needed for varying topics, including legislation and education.

Hobbies: Adopt rescue dogs and give them a nice home. Continuously read and critique news stories from various platforms.