By Michael Heather
Elvia Guerrero grew up in Anaheim, CA, the first daughter of legal immigrant parents from Mexico.
She was not very interested in school, but went to satisfy her father, who insisted that she learn and do her homework consistently. He felt fortunate to have the opportunities that existed in the USA and wanted Elvia to feel the same way. She listened well, learned well, and became an X-Ray technologist and was working at the local Banner hospital in Payson. She was very happy to help people and settled in for an interesting career with Banner.
Then in 2020, Banner instituted vaccine mandates of all employees. Reading all available research and observing patient outcomes, she felt that the vaccine carried more risk than reward and refused to be injected. Even though Elvia is a devout Christian, she decided not to ask for a religious exemption, she personally believed that the mandate was wrong. And as a result of her refusing to take the vaccine, she was released from her job for failing to obey. She eventually got a part time job in Show Low, over 90 miles away. This part of the story is not yet over, she may have legal grounds to get her job back.
However, it does lead into why she decided to run for the Payson School Board, a volunteer position if elected. Elvia prayed a lot during the stressful time leading up to her dismissal and found that local students were also dealing with similar anxieties and stress from mask mandates and lockdowns. She was aware of several Arizona school districts that had allowed Critical Race Theory (CRT) to be taught in their schools and that is something she would fight against in our Payson schools. And because of the mandates and lockdowns, Elvia was surprised at the amount of acting out that students were exhibiting. Thankfully, the state prohibited CRT to be taught in all Arizona public schools. The PUSD, however did implement a new program called ‘social-emotional learning’ (SEL) to help the students cope with the isolation, anxiety of masking, and emotional issues brought on by remote learning which was forced upon them for one and a half years. SEL is little different from CRT, in that it does not promote white guilt, but it is still a concept that over-emphasizes a student’s unhealthy craving to feel emotionally comfortable and emotionally protected. SEL teaches one to prioritize their feelings over self-discipline and self-control – not necessarily a good prescription for dealing with the real world.
Elvia does not use her brown skin or ethnicity as an opportunity to claim victimhood, as she is secure in her beliefs and education enough to know that while racist attitudes exist, they are mostly personal issues with people who are either hypersensitive about their identity or just angry about something they cannot control. She is a beautiful young lady that is very articulate and knowledgeable; someone that will be able to relate to student struggles while demanding a good work ethic and personal responsibility.
Elvia’s story is one of a true volunteer, one who is moved to help others because she understands core human values and the need to raise well-educated and responsible citizens. She has the strength to endure the lies and false ideologies of others and will show up, stand up, and speak up for what is right. She will seize the opportunity to help students excel and involve parents in their children’s education. No one will ever accuse Elvia of supporting and advocating the woke ideology permeating our schools today.
Please give Elvia your vote and support.
★ ★ ★ ★
