This is a lesson in why it is important for voters to carefully review the positions and background of every candidate for public office, be it the President of the United States or an individual running for school board.
The case of Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board Member Kimberly Fisher clearly demonstrates this point.
As reported by AZ Mirror and other media outlets, Ms. Fisher, a person who, along with her husband, has conveyed white supremacist and pro-Confederacy views, inappropriately displayed the Nazi salute to the Board President Paul Carver, saying “Heil, heil,” after disagreeing with his administration of an agenda item.
Please click below to watch Fisher give the salute.
After the meeting, Fisher broadcast her justification for the salute and words in a Facebook video.
Ms. Fisher has already been censured by the Deer Valley Board for publicly revealing information discussed in an Executive Session of a previous meeting.
For those who think this may be a misunderstood act, Ms. Fisher has, as revealed by AZ Mirror, previously broadcast her alt-right views on Islam, Joe Biden’s 2020 election, and vaccines.
So this is clearly not an isolated incident.
Commenting to AZ Mirror, fellow board member and Arizona Legislative District Two Representative Stephanie Simacek, who sat next to Fisher when she displayed her poor behavior, said:
“I think she needs to resign, and I think that what we have seen from her over the past four years I’ve been serving as a school board member is unacceptable…“The salute and what it represents has no place in public meetings. Free speech or not, it is unacceptable. We will not normalize this behavior.”
Later in a statement from the Arizona State House, Representative Simacek elaborated on her comments to the Mirror, writing:
“I am an Arizona state representative. I am a school board member. And I am someone who believes, to my core that our schools must be safe places for every single child, regardless of their background, their religion, or the color of their skin.
What happened in that room was not a joke. It was not a political statement or an expression of frustration. It was a deliberate invocation of one of the most evil ideologies in human history on display in a building where our children come to learn.
This is what antisemitism looks like when people get comfortable. This is what hatred looks like when it finds a seat at the table.
I am calling for an immediate censure. I am calling for accountability. And I am calling on every parent, educator, and elected official Republican or Democrat — to stand up and say clearly: THIS HAS NO PLACE HERE.
Our Jewish students, families, and community members deserve better. Every student deserves better. We will not normalize this. Not on my watch. Not in our schools. Not in Arizona.”
The person running to replace Tom Horne as Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Teresa Leyba Ruiz, agrees with Representative Simacek, commenting to Blog for Arizona:
“Elected officials, particularly those entrusted with overseeing the education of our children, should never conduct themselves in a way that sets a poor example.
I would call on this board member to resign, but through her longstanding inappropriate behavior, she has shown no willingness to take accountability. I will be working to elect DVUSD candidates like Julie Stockwell, who will lead with integrity and accountability.”
Current Superintendent Tom Horne has so far not appeared to follow Dr. Ruiz’s example of condemning Ms. Fisher.
Fellow Arizona House Representatives Nancy Guiterrez and Consuelo Hernandez also agree with their colleague.
Assitant House Leader Guiterrez, a lifelong educator in Tucson, commented to Blog for Arizona:
“I am horrified that a school board member would behave this way. This is clearly antisemitism. It should not be tolerated, ever. I think that this Board Member needs to be removed from the Board. We must take a stand. We cannot allow someone in that position or anyone that is supposed to be in a leadership position to engage in antisemitic behavior or speech or activity.”
Representative Hernandez, who is a member of the Sunnyslope School Board and is a member of the Tucson Jewish Community, also commented to the Blog for Arizona:
“I am horrified that in 2026, there is anyone, let alone a public figure, who would use the Nazi salute, a symbol of Jewish extermination, hate, and violence. With the rise of Jewish hatred, I ask all elected officials to take this with the seriousness it deserves and condemn Kimberly Fisher. There is no excuse, especially in a school setting, to display these acts of hatred towards anyone. My hope is that a sincere apology is made to the Deer Valley district and the Jewish community, and that someone as bigoted as Kimberly Fisher is not re-elected again.”
The Arizona Education Association issued two posts condeming Fisher’s acts and agreeing with the Deer Valley Education Association that Fisher should apologize and resign.
In reporting after the incident, Board President Paul Carver said members of the Jewish Community have inundated him with outreach, expressing their concerns with Fisher. Carver has said Fisher’s behavior will be addressed at a June 9 board meeting.
Horrifying.
Disgusting.
Hateful.
Anti-Semitic.
Ms. Fisher, through her actions at the very public Deer Valley School District, has demonstrated all the above repulsive attributes and needs to resign.
Unfortunately, Ms. Fisher is not the only reactionary school board member in Arizona and across the country.
Watch the PBS documentary called The Librarians and witness how reactionary school board member Nazi-Fascist-like attempts to ban books to see what is happening when voters do not pay attention to the background and positions of the candidate on the ballot.
Voters need to remember Fisher and others like her in this teachable moment when they cast ballots for school board members this November.
Do you really want people like Kimberly “Heil heil’ Fisher in a position to shape your children’s minds?
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