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Athena Salman

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Athena Salman
Member of the
Arizona House of Representatives
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 1, 2024
Preceded byJuan Mendez
Succeeded byJevin Hodge
Constituency26th district (2017–2023)
8th district (2023–2024)
Personal details
Born1989 (age 34–35)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 2022)​
EducationArizona State University (BA)

Athena Salman (born 1989) is an American politician and activist who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 26th and 8th districts from 2017 to 2024. She resigned from the legislature effective January 1, 2024.

Early life and education

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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

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Salman spoke at the 2017 American Atheists Convention.

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, 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.[7]

In 2018, Salman's legislation to provide unlimited feminine hygiene products to incarcerated women was heard in an all-male committee.[8] 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.[9][10]

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.[11]

Salman supported Proposition 205 in 2016, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana for those 21 and older.[12] Salman also supports public education, immigration reform, reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality.[13]

On January 1, 2024, Salman submitted her resignation from the legislature to Speaker of the House Ben Toma. She resigned in order to take a position as the director of Arizona campaigns for the state chapter of Reproductive Freedom for All.[14]

Recognition

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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.[13] 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

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  1. ^ Opinion, Guest (May 24, 2016). "Meet my daughter: MLK Diversity Award recipient running for House of Representatives". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "Athena Salman, House District 26". Stand for Children. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Athena Salman". New American Leaders. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Athena Salman Ballotpedia, January 25, 2019, retrieved January 25, 2019
  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 December 20, 2016. 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. ^ Nichols, John (April 21, 2017). "Arizona Legislator Gave an Invocation that Didn't Mention God. You Won't Believe What Happened Next". thenation.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Jimmy (February 5, 2018). "'Pads And Tampons And The Problems With Periods:' All-Male Committee Hears Arizona Bill On Feminine Hygiene Products In Prison". kjzz.org. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  9. ^ Vera, Amir (February 13, 2018). "Why women in Arizona are sending a state representative pads and tampons". cnn.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  10. ^ White, Kaila (February 21, 2018). "Arizona prisons will now give female inmates free tampons". azcentral.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (February 2, 2018). "GOP lawmaker expelled from Arizona House after report finds pattern of sexual harassment". cnn.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "District 26 candidates define their positions at debate". Azcentral.com. October 28, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Top Ten Newsmakers You'll Want to Watch in 2019". Azcentral.com. October 28, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  14. ^ "Arizona lawmaker Athena Salman resigning at year's end, says she will join an abortion rights group". Associated Press. December 20, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Best Politician – Athena Salman, June 15, 2018, retrieved January 25, 2019
  16. ^ Best Power Couple – Juan Mendez and Athena Salman, June 15, 2017, retrieved January 25, 2019
  17. ^ Past City of Tempe MLK Diversity Award Winners, retrieved January 25, 2019
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