FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Aditi Katti
October 6th, 2023
National Education Association Recommends Marlene Galán-Woods
Phoenix, AZ — Today, National Education Association, the largest labor union in the country, and the Arizona Education Association, one of the largest labor unions in Arizona, announced the recommendation of Marlene Galán-Woods in her bid for AZ-01 and released the following statement:
“We are so proud to endorse Marlene Galán-Woods for Arizona’s First Congressional District,” said Marisol Garcia, president of NEA’s Arizona affiliate, the Arizona Education Association. “Arizonans deserve to be represented in Washington, DC by someone who will actually fight for us. Marlene has dedicated her life to serving our community, and we know that she’ll be a staunch defender of our public schools.”
“I am so honored to have NEA’s and AEA’s support in this race,” Galán-Woods said. “I will be a fierce advocate for students and educators and will fight to expand access and investment in public education in Arizona. NEA and AEA have worked tirelessly to uplift the voices of students and teachers and I’m proud to have their endorsement.”
David Schweikert has an “F” rating from the National Education Association because of his long record of opposing public education. Just a few days ago, he voted for drastic cuts to federal funding for public schools, cuts that would have caused 275,000 young children to lose access to early childhood education and resulted in lay-offs for 150,000 educators nationwide. Our kids are already struggling and David Schweikert is making life harder for them.
Arizona’s First Congressional District has been identified as one of the top pickup opportunities for Democrats to flip the House of Representatives. The Cook Political Report has rated this district a toss-up and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named AZ-01 as one of their top priorities this cycle.
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Marlene Galán Woods is a 35-year Arizona resident, former broadcast journalist and mother of five children. Her parents fled communist Cuba looking for a better life for their children. Their risk paid off when Marlene moved to Arizona in the 1980s— it’s where she began her career as a broadcast journalist, where she met the love of her life, and where they would raise a family together.
While Marlene’s late husband, Grant Woods, served as Arizona’s Attorney General, Marlene was exposing corruption and holding the powerful accountable during her 20-year journalism career.
Outside of their respective careers, Marlene and Grant were dedicated to improving the lives of Arizona children, from serving on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley to spearheading a local tennis tournament that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help underserved kids to helping found the Phoenix Children’s Museum. She is running to be Arizona’s voice — to represent our priorities and protect our freedoms. She will be the courageous, truthful leader Arizona has earned.
Though Marlene’s philanthropic efforts have focused on improving the lives of Arizona’s children, she has a passion for preserving and expanding the individual freedoms of all Arizonans.
She is a lifelong supporter of a woman’s right to choose and couldn’t stand by idly watching ongoing attacks on our voting rights.
In 2022, Marlene chaired the campaign of Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and led a group of former journalists in calling out Republican candidates, namely Kari Lake, for their attacks on the media while spreading disinformation. Marlene’s dedication to the preservation of our democracy was recognized by Governor Katie Hobbs’ who invited Marlene to serve on her transition committee.
