Steven Chapman and Leezah Sun recall, Tolleson Union High School District, Arizona (2025)
| Tolleson Union High School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Leezah Sun |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall two of the five members of the Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board in Arizona began in July 2025. Steven Chapman and Leezah Sun were named in the applications for recall petitions. At the time the recall effort began, Sun was serving was board president, and Chapman was serving as board vice president.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Arguments for recall against Chapman
The application for a recall petition against Chapman can be found below. Scroll in the box to read the full grounds for recall.
Arguments for recall against Sun
The application for a recall petition against Sun can be found below. Scroll in the box to read the full grounds for recall.
Recall opponents
In a written statement to The Arizona Republic, Chapman said that, "...the petition strings together a mixture of false and misleading statements meant to sabotage a shared vision for our district that our community has supported time and time again," and that "[t]he petitioners’ campaign poses an obvious question: Is this for students or is it for politics?"[3]
Sun said that "Helping a neighboring district like Isaac within the law should be seen as collaboration, not wrongdoing. Arizona continues to rank near the bottom in teacher pay, and these distractions only take focus away from supporting our educators and students."[3]
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.[4]
To get the recalls against Chapman and Sun on the ballot, supporters had to collect 8,711 signatures for each petition by November 7, 2025.[1]
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 two other members are being held on November 4, 2025. Recall elections against three other members are being held on November 18, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 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
- Tolleson Union High School District, Arizona
- Tolleson Union High School District, Arizona, elections
- Tolleson Union High School District, Arizona, elections (2024)
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Tolleson Union High School District
- Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Recall elections," accessed July 21, 2025
- ↑ Tolleson Union High School District, "Governing Board," accessed July 22, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 azcentral, "Tolleson Union school board members facing recall petitions," September 30, 2025
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Recall," accessed October 16, 2023
