Around the Districts Podcast

School changes bring practical questions for Kyrene families, from keeping classmates together to continuing in dual-language programs. Gabrielle Mazar and Nicole Brown welcome back Franklin Zyriek, a candidate for the Kyrene Elementary School District Governing Board, to discuss how board members can help families plan ahead.

In part two, Zyriek shares his approach to listening across the school community, finding common ground, a...

Who gets a say in decisions about the Valley’s water and power? If you’re an SRP customer, paying your electric bill doesn’t necessarily give you a vote.

In this episode, SRP board member Melissa Harlan and council members Nicole Brown and Regina Gutierrez discuss April’s election and the work ahead. Nicole, also our Around the Districts co-host, shares her perspective as a newly elected council member.

We t...

Public school districts in Arizona confront severe budget cuts and universal ESA voucher expansion. In this episode, we sit down with Franklin Zyriek, candidate for the Kyrene Elementary School District Governing Board. A product of Norte, Waggoner, and Kyrene Middle School, Zyriek returns to his home district to deliver policy discipline, fiscal accountability, and structural defense for neighborhood classrooms.

We examine the clo...

The 2026 election cycle is here. Down-ballot school board races decide where administrative policy collides with households. In part two of our conversation with Kyrene Elementary School District Governing Board candidate Catherine Peters, we expose the physical grind of local campaigns in summer heat and the urgent need for parent voices on the board.

We examine the daily routine of families, the gap of active parent voices on the...

In part one of our conversation with Kyrene Elementary School District Governing Board candidate Catherine Peters, we expose the human cost of school consolidation, bus transport gridlock, and the financial strain universal ESA vouchers impose on public districts in Arizona.

We explore how local parents step into boardrooms to demand direct public access, open committees, and transparent decision-making before school closures occur...

Independent voters represent Arizona's fastest growing political group, yet state election law forces nonpartisan candidates to gather six times as many signatures just to access the ballot. Closed primaries shut thousands of us out of decisive races, creating state and local governance that fails to reflect the electorate.

In part two of our interview with Voter Choice Arizona field director Kazz Fernandes, we examine how ranked c...

Chandler Vice Mayor Angel Encinas returns for part two of our conversation. Direct public access keeps municipal government accountable to residents. Angel maintains an open door policy and answers calls from constituents day and night.

When hot topic issues come before council, local leaders must put residents first. The Chandler City Council voted to reject a massive data center project and reinforced municipal codes to set stric...

Systems engineer turned election reformer Kazz Fernandes joins Around the Districts to explain how open primaries and ranked ballots restore power to Arizona voters. Closed primaries lock independent voters out of decisive elections and hand control of public policy to extreme partisan bases.

Kazz details how Voter Choice Arizona uses direct neighborhood education, local cookoff elections, and municipal ballot measures like the Tem...

In this second installment with Chandler City Councilmember Jane Poston, we examine how Chandler adapts as available land reaches 94 percent capacity. Councilmember Poston outlines a smart infill strategy to convert older commercial centers and closed school sites into entry-level workforce housing for young families, teachers, and firefighters.

We explore how Chandler launches its own emergency medical response service through the...

Here’s part 1 with Chandler Vice Mayor Angel Encinas. Raised in the heart of downtown Chandler, he brings a lifelong connection to the families and streets of his hometown. 

We discuss his direct outreach in Chandler traditional neighborhoods, where he connects residents directly with police, firefighters, and municipal teams to secure street lights, speed bumps, and alley cleanups. He details how neighborhood roundtable...

Municipal decisions shape the immediate realities of our neighborhoods. In this episode, we sit down with Chandler City Councilmember Jane Poston to discuss her transition from municipal public affairs to write city policy. Poston leverages her  experience as a former twelve-year city employee and local small business owner to demand structural accountability.

We discuss how Chandler enforces some of the strictest land-use zon...

Chandler transformed from a quiet farm town into a global economic hub. As the July 21st mayoral election approaches rapidly, the city requires leadership that understands this massive demographic shift.

In part two of our talk with Chandler mayoral candidate Matt Orlando, we examine the three pillars necessary for the future of the city. He prioritizes community safety, economic development, and quality of life. Orlando shares sto...

Local districts must collaborate to defeat well-funded political machines. In this episode, Legislative District 12 Chair Melissa Galarza details how grassroots campaigns swap resources and bypass the consultant class. We discuss the direct path from local school boards to federal office. When we elect strong leaders at the municipal level today, we block bad national policy tomorrow.

Watch to learn how to secure power in your neig...

Chandler Council Member Matt Orlando campaigns to become the next Mayor of Chandler. He brings 25 years of public service to city hall. In this episode, we sit down with Matt to discuss the true cost of high-tech industry sprawl, data centers, and community safety. He explains his recent vote to reject a massive artificial intelligence data center where developers failed to guarantee local jobs. We also examine his collaborative mo...

Welcome back to Around the Districts! In this episode, we sit down for Part 2 of our conversation with Chandler City Council candidate Cicely Rocha-Miller to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to run a grassroots local campaign.

Cicely shares her perspective on why the arts are a fundamental connector—not a luxury—for the Chandler community, detailing the unique partnership between the Chandler Center for t...

In the second part of our conversation, Maritza Saenz returns to expose the deep conflict over ballot access in Arizona. The state legislature maintains a steady assault on early ballots and mail-in access. We dissect the Free, Fair, and Secure Elections Act (I-08-2026), a citizen measure that establishes voter rights in the Arizona Constitution. This measure places established ballot access out of reach for partisan politicians.

C...

The 2026 election cycle is here. Wealth alone does not buy movements. In this episode, we continue our conversation with Claudia Kline. She seeks a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives for Legislative District 8. We look at the harsh landscape for rural Arizona.

We show how state policy fails our neighbors. We dissect how corporations use right-to-work laws to exploit workers and suppress wages. We discuss the medical deser...

Municipal campaigns are hard work. In 2024, Cicely Rocha-Miller missed the Chandler runoff election by only 242 votes. This razor-thin margin proves a fundamental truth: your vote matters. While national campaigns dominate our screens with partisan battles, municipal decisions determine our daily lives.

In Part 1 of our conversation with Chandler City Council candidate Cicely Rocha-Miller, we discuss the reality of local public ser...

National campaigns waste millions on late-stage television ads. They ignore the physical labor of the precinct. In part one of our series with Legislative District 12 Chair Melissa Galarza, we examine how local organization wins elections.

Melissa built a powerful team of precinct committeepersons in the East Valley. Volunteers distributed over one hundred thousand physical voter guides. They knocked on doors. They did the hard wor...