Athena Salman

Athena Salman is an American politician and activist serving as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 26th district. Salman also serves as the Minority Whip of the Arizona House of Representatives.

Athena Salman
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 26th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2017
Serving with Melody Hernandez
Preceded byJuan Mendez
Personal details
Born1989 (age 31–32)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationArizona State University (BA)

Early life and education

Athena Salman was born in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] Her family has roots in Mexico, Germany, and the West Bank.[2][3] Salman led community service projects during her youth. In college, she was an organizing intern and senior fellow with the Arizona Students’ Association. She graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with degrees in economics and political science.[4]

Career

In 2016, Salman defeated incumbent Celeste Plumlee and Michael Martinez in the District 26 Democratic primary. Salman defeated Republican Steven Adkins and Green party candidate Cara Trujillo in the general election.[4][5] In 2018, Salman defeated Republican Ray Speakman in the general election.[6] In both elections, Salman ran as a Clean Election Candidate and received no PAC contributions.

Salman, an atheist,[7] made national headlines during her first legislative session when she gave a humanist prayer on the House floor, which was ruled out of order by the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.[8]

In 2018, Salman's legislation to provide unlimited feminine hygiene products to incarcerated women was heard in an all-male committee.[9] As a result, a viral campaign to pressure immediate change ensued leading to a policy change by the Arizona Department of Corrections that increased the allotment of pads and for the first time included tampons.[10][11]

Salman was one of nine women to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against former Arizona House of Representatives member Don Shooter, eventually leading to his expulsion.[12]

Salman supported Proposition 205 in 2016, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana for those 21 and older.[13] Salman also supports public education, immigration reform, reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality.[14]

Recognition

Salman was recognized as 2018 Best Politician by Phoenix New Times[15] and named by The Arizona Republic's top ten newsmakers to watch in 2019.[14] Salman and state senator Juan Mendez received Phoenix New Time's 2017 Best Power Couple.[16] She was also awarded the City of Tempe's MLK Diversity Award in 2016.[17]

References
  1. Opinion, Guest (2016-05-24). "Meet my daughter: MLK Diversity Award recipient running for House of Representatives". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  2. "Athena Salman, House District 26". Stand for Children. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  3. "Athena Salman". New American Leaders. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  4. Athena Salman Ballotpedia, 2019-01-25, retrieved 2019-01-25
  5. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2016 General Election November 8, 2016" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-20. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  6. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2018 General Election November 6, 2018" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 17. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  7. Friendly Atheist. "Athena Salman, Openly Atheist Candidate for Arizona State House, Wins Race". Retrieved Mar 21, 2019.
  8. Nichols, John (2017-04-21). "Arizona Legislator Gave an Invocation that Didn't Mention God. You Won't Believe What Happened Next". thenation.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  9. Jenkins, Jimmy (2018-02-05). "'Pads And Tampons And The Problems With Periods:' All-Male Committee Hears Arizona Bill On Feminine Hygiene Products In Prison". kjzz.org. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  10. Vera, Amir (2018-02-13). "Why women in Arizona are sending a state representative pads and tampons". cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  11. White, Kaila (2018-02-21). "Arizona prisons will now give female inmates free tampons". azcentral.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  12. Stracqualursi, Veronica (2018-02-02). "GOP lawmaker expelled from Arizona House after report finds pattern of sexual harassment". cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  13. "District 26 candidates define their positions at debate". Azcentral.com. 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  14. "Top Ten Newsmakers You'll Want to Watch in 2019". Azcentral.com. 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  15. BEST POLITICIAN Athena Salman, 2018-06-15, retrieved 2019-01-25
  16. BEST POWER COUPLE Juan Mendez and Athena Salman, 2017-06-15, retrieved 2019-01-25
  17. Past City of Tempe MLK Diversity Award Winners, retrieved 2019-01-25
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