The usually routine election of governing board officers president and clerk at the beginning of every calendar year typically goes off with little fanfare. But for the second year in a row, the Peoria Unified election took an interesting turn.
After 30-minutes of public comments and governing board members David Sandoval, Melissa Ewing and Heather Rooks stating their intent be president, Sandoval called a five-minute recess.
After coming back, he motioned for recently appointed governing board member Rebecca Proudfit to be president.
The board followed with a 4-1 approval of Proudfit, with Ewing dissenting.
Proudfit was visibly surprised, her face reddened, and she might not have known the transfer is immediate. Or even more likely: She didn't expect that agenda item to play out like it did. Nope. Likely, the whole room was not expecting this.
In most cases, the newly elected president takes over the lead of the meeting. Proudfit said she was not prepared to do so. As a result, Sandoval continued presiding over the meeting.
“Would you mind running the rest of the meeting? This is kind of taking me by surprise to be honest with you,” she said when Sandoval asked her if she would take over.
After the election of Proudfit to president, business proceeded to the next agenda item: electing the clerk. Sandoval, Ewing and Rooks stated their intent to serve on this seat. Rooks motioned for herself and Proudfit seconded.
The motion failed 2-3, with Sandoval, Ewing and Sorensen dissenting.
Then Ewing nominated herself for the clerk position. Sandoval seconded.
The motion failed 2-3, with Rooks, Proudfit and Sorensen dissenting.
Finally, Ewing motioned for Sandoval to be clerk and Sorensen seconded.
The motion passed 4-1, with Rooks dissenting.
This year, Proudfit will be president and Sandoval will be clerk.
In October, Proudfit was appointed to the Peoria Unified governing board by Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson to fill the seat of former board member Rebecca Hill, who resigned Aug. 24.
Although PUSD governing board announced three finalists for Hill’s seat at the time, Watson had final approval from the three final candidates or the more than 25 candidates who submitted to the district.
Proudfit took the seat only two months ago on Nov. 16, and her term will run through Dec. 31.
Prior to the vote on the clerk at the meeting, Proudfit said truly everyone on the board would be a great president and would also be a great clerk.
“I just want to say that these meetings can get heated but having worked closely, I have the utmost respect and I can tell you with a hundred percent certainty that every single member of this board is here for the right reasons,” she said. “Sometimes they disagree about what the best thing is and how to get there, but the caliber of human being that sits on this board is incredibly high and each one has been incredibly generous in mentoring me and bringing me onto the board. Everyone has been incredibly respectful, and I have witnessed nothing but respectful behavior between everybody.”
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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