MiLee Vogel – City of Sycamore
We are nearing the end of Girls State,“Welcome to State Government Part 2”, covering the Judicial Branch and delegates election speeches for governor and secretary of state.
Today’s program started with a powerpoint presentation of the Judicial process by Maricopa county attorney’s Hilary Weinberg and Kate Loudenslagel. They gave an in depth description of all the different courts and their respective responsibilities and cases. One of the most intriguing facts was that several Arizona court cases do in fact reach the federal Supreme Court.
Moving on to the primary election results, it was revealed the candidates that made it to the general election for governor and secretary of state. We started with the candidates for governor, and I was overjoyed to find that I had made the final ballot. Each candidate was allowed a maximum of 3 minutes, and I was blown away by the amazingness of the other two candidates’ speeches.
This was followed by a question and answer seminar where the reporters/bloggers gave “whistle stops” to the candidates to answer. Another candidate was also a blogger, so we were excluded from asking questions in order to make the sessions fair. One of the best questions that I heard asked was “How will you help the LGBTQ community and minorities who are homeless get access to homes, jobs, and vital resources needed for survival?” The q&a session lasted approximately 15 minutes before switching over to the secretary of state candidates, following the same process. My favorite question that was asked was “How have you faced adversity personally and how did you overcome it?” because it revealed their true selves and made their campaigns more personal and relatable. Each of the candidates speeches were truly fantastic and once again it will be a difficult decision to pick one.
The session wrapped up with the Girls State Talent Show, which showcased delegates unique skills and hobbies. Some of the outstanding performances were body contortion, painting, cultural dancing, science experiments, language fluency, and martial arts. During the talent show, delegates were able to vote for the candidates and the results of the general election will be revealed tomorrow in our final session.
I will be deeply saddened to see this program come to a close, but I will cherish the memories for the rest of my life. This is MiLee Vogel, signing off…