← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Arizona
No endorsement
The race
Liberty Elementary School District voters elect two members to four-year terms on November 3, 2026. Vote for up to two. Three candidates are running; none is a current incumbent, though one is a former board member. Two candidates are campaigning as a slate.
The certified roster is: Paul Bixler, Maeghan Kinnan, and Ashley Wright.
The candidates
Paul Bixler. Bixler previously served on this board from 2020 through 2024, resigning halfway through her final meeting, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She was the first transgender woman to hold elected office in Arizona, served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Arizona State University, and spent 30 years in public education as a teacher, counselor, coach and office administrator, per the Republic's reporting. Her service was the subject of controversy after a protest over her use of a women's locker room at a gym extended to protests of her board placement.
Pros: Thirty years in public education, military service and four years on this very board. Cons: She resigned mid-meeting at the end of her last term — how a term ends is part of a record — and no published platform for this run was sourced in this pass.
Maeghan Kinnan. Kinnan is campaigning as a slate with Ashley Wright, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She works as a buyer for Tolleson Union High School District and previously worked as a procurement specialist for Liberty Elementary.
Pros: Procurement is the district's money-out-the-door discipline; she has done it for this district and a neighboring one. Cons: No published platform or governing record was sourced beyond her procurement employment.
Ashley Wright. Wright, campaigning alongside Kinnan, has a background in business, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She has criticized turnover of district superintendents and the effect that has had on teachers and students.
Pros: She has named a real district problem — superintendent churn and its cost to staff and students — as her issue. Cons: A criticism is not yet a program; no published platform or governing record was sourced in this pass.
OUR CALL
Our call: insufficient record — no endorsement. What would earn one here: a published platform from any candidate — what the Kinnan-Wright slate would do about superintendent stability and spending, or what Bixler would do differently in a second tenure. A former member who resigned mid-meeting, a procurement specialist and a business candidate criticizing churn: the outlines are visible, the record to endorse on is not.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Maricopa County School Superintendent — "November 3, 2026 School District Governing Board Certified and Write-In Candidates (as of 8/25/26)" — the certified roster for this race (county grade) — https://schoolsup.org/s/2026-Certified-Write-In-Candidates-082526.pdf
- The Arizona Republic / azcentral, "Who's running for metro Phoenix school boards in the midterm election?" (Oct. 2, 2026) — candidate backgrounds, occupations and stated priorities as reported — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/02/metro-phoenix-school-board-candidates-midterm-2026-election/91830892007/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.