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Liliana Arroyo and Luis Marquez recall, Gadsden Elementary School District, Arizona (2024-2025)
| Gadsden Elementary School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Luis Marquez |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 4, 2025 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
Recall elections against Liliana Arroyo and Luis Marquez, members of the Gadsden Elementary School District school board in Arizona, are being held on November 4, 2025. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was August 6, 2025. The recall election was first scheduled for May 20, 2025, but was rescheduled for November 4, 2025.[1][2]
An earlier recall effort against Marquez did not go to a vote in 2024. A total of 777 signatures were required to put the recall on the ballot, but only 128 were deemed valid.[3]
Marquez was serving as president of the five-member board at the time the recall effort started.[4]
Recall vote
Liliana Arroyo recall election
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
Special general election for Gadsden Elementary School District, At-large
Incumbent Liliana Arroyo and Manuel Rojas are running in the special general election for Gadsden Elementary School District, At-large on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Liliana Arroyo (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Manuel Rojas (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Luis Marquez recall election
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
Special general election for Gadsden Elementary School District, At-large
Incumbent Luis Marquez and Mark Concha are running in the special general election for Gadsden Elementary School District, At-large on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Luis Marquez (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Mark Concha (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Recall supporters
Both recall petitions were filed by Mark Concha, a resident of the school district. In his recall petition against Arroyo, Concha said she did not speak English proficiently. "A person cannot represent us without knowing the language. It is important to be fluent in the language to represent our people; otherwise, how can we do it, especially if the meetings are in English?" Concha said.[1]
In his recall petition against Marquez, Concha said he had been on the board too long, abused his power, made self-serving decisions, and mistreated staff.[5]
Recall opponents
Marquez called the recall against him a personal vendetta. "Two years ago, I was the top vote-getter among 12 candidates. My community supported me and wants me here, so here I'll stay," Marquez said.[5]
Marquez also said that in his decades of serving on the board, he has never received a formal complaint. "I tell my community this: If you think it's time for me to go, you have the vote. If the community wants me to leave, I'll go with my head held high. I've done my best for my community, but it's not fair for lies to be spread and for people to be misled," he said.[5]
Arroyo had not commented on the recall effort against her as of February 3, 2025.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
No specific grounds are required for recall in Arizona. To begin the recall process, supporters must file an application for a recall petition that must be approved by the relevant election office. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast for all candidates at the last election for the relevant office in 120 days.[6]
To get the recalls on the ballot, supporters had to collect 777 signatures. They filed the signatures in December 2024. On January 30, 2025, the county verified 1,080 signatures against Arroyo and 1,086 signatures against Marquez.[1] The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was August 6, 2025.[2]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 21 school board recall efforts against 39 board members in 2025. Recall elections against three board members were approved by voters on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025, removing all three from office. Recall elections against three other members are also being held on November 4, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 recall efforts by individual school board member.
2024 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 40 school board recall efforts against 83 board members in 2024. Recall elections in 2024 removed 14 members from office, including three who resigned before the election, and retained seven members in office. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2024 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Gadsden Elementary School District, Arizona
- Gadsden Elementary School District, Arizona, elections
- Gadsden Elementary School District recall, Arizona (2021)
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Gadsden Elementary School District
- Yuma County Superintendent's Office
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Press Reader, "Effort to recall GESD board member gathers sufficient valid signatures," February 3, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Abbey Smith, “Phone communication with Elizabeth Valenzuela, Chief Deputy, Yuma County School Superintendent," March 27, 2025
- ↑ KYMA, "Failed recall for President of GESD board," February 8, 2024
- ↑ Gadsden Elementary School District, "School Board Members," accessed February 6, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Press Reader, "President of GESD board to face recall election," January 16, 2025
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Recall," accessed October 16, 2023
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