Arizona Edition

Arizona Edition: new AZ Democratic Party chair, Crane district lawsuit

By Victor Calderón,

Published September 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM MST

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In this week's episode of Arizona Edition, a longtime former elected official from Yuma has been selected to lead state Democrats.

Charlene Fernandez is a former state representative and Arizona director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. She was selected by party leaders last weekend.

Two of the last three Arizona Democratic Party chairs have been Latinas from Yuma County: Fernandez and former chair Yolanda Bejarano from Roll.

Fernandez takes over coming off of a challenging 2024 general election for Arizona Democrats.

Also, the Arizona Constitution charges the legislature with the task of maintaining a general and uniform public school system. But is it really?

A recent ruling from an Arizona Superior Court judge says it isn't.

Four school districts were among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit, including one of Yuma's own: the Crane Elementary School District.

KAWC spoke with local and state education leaders to learn more.

Arizona Edition

Victor Calderón

Victor is originally from West Sacramento, California and has lived in Arizona for more than five years. He began his print journalism career in 2004 following his graduation from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Victor has been a reporter for the following daily newspapers: The Monterey County Herald, The Salinas Californian and the Reno Gazette-Journal, where he covered stories including agriculture, education and Latino community news. Victor has also served as a local editor for Patch, a national news organization with hyperlocal websites, in Carmichael, California in the Sacramento area. He also served as the editor for The New Vision, the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, which includes Yuma and La Paz counties. Victor lives in Somerton. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and following most sports.

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Sisko Stargazer

Sisko J. Stargazer is KAWC’s education solutions reporter. Although new to the station as of April 2025, they’re no stranger to the beat! Sisko was previously an education reporter for the Yuma Sun, faithfully covering Yuma County’s schools for two and a half years.

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