Following updated results early this morning, Samantha Davis and Kelli Anderson are leading the race for the Queen Creek Unified School District governing board.
Four candidates are running for two seats on the board.
Davis has 28.5% of the vote; Anderson is at 24.3%; Michael Romero has 23.7%; and Sarah Purcell has 23.3%.
Davis, who currently serves as president of the board she has been on since 2018.
Current board member Anderson is running for her first full term after being appointed in 2025.
They are being challenged by Romero and Purcell.
During her time as a board member, Davis helped establish norms and protocols to ensure efficiency and oversight. The Arizona School Boards Association has shared the Queen Creek Unified School Board norms and protocols with school boards across the state as an example of board excellence.
An Army veteran, Anderson, who homeschools her children, was appointed to the QCUSD board by Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs after controversial former member James Knox resigned in January 2025. Anderson is serving out Knox’s term, which ends in December.
Following Knox’s resignation, Purcell was one of three candidates chosen by a district team made up of Davis, QCUSD Superintendent Perry Berry, a teacher and members of the community to fill the vacancy. She was ultimately not selected by Boggs. Purcell taught at Gateway Polytechnic Academy and Faith Mather Sossaman Elementary and worked for Gilbert Public Schools.
Romero taught at Tempe High School from 2007 to 2015. He was chair of the school’s career and technical education department and served as an adviser to DECA, which aims to create future business leaders.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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