It matters that Phoenix Councilman Carlos Garcia fought the mayor on his way out

Corrections & Clarifications: Newly elected Phoenix City Councilman Kevin Robinson was misidentified in an earlier version of this column.

The poor – of any race – lost a huge voice on the Phoenix City Council, and that void couldn’t been clearer this week.

During his last City Council meeting, Councilman Carlos García and Mayor Kate Gallego went for each other's jugular over the imminent eviction of west Phoenix residents from their mobile homes.

García and fellow council members tried to make a last-ditch appeal to delay the eviction and help residents.

Gallego’s allies quickly moved not just to kill the proposal but to quash any public comment.

“Never thought this was coming. You caught me off guard, mayor,” García said, addressing Gallego after he let residents yell their frustration before casting his vote. “This is even lower than what you’ve gone before.’’

'Shame on you!' silenced residents yelled

It was a brilliant move by García to let residents who were silenced shame Gallego – even for that short moment.

Anyone watching the council meeting online could hear the people shout, “Shame on you!”

Councilwomen Laura Pastor and Betty Guardado chimed in, saying they were appalled that residents weren’t allowed to speak to the council at a public meeting.

'You can't even bear to listen to us?' Residents facing eviction blast mayor

“You know why I’m shocked right now? Because it’s poor, brown people, white people, that are getting evicted,” Pastor said. “It’s upsetting to my core and my moral values that this is happening in the city of Phoenix.”

Gallego later snapped back, saying García and the others were merely staging an “unfair political stunt.”

“We want to help but we can’t do that with stunts,” Gallego said. “We have to do it with real policy that’s vetted by lawyers and that it’s going to stand up to scrutiny. That’s the moral thing to do.”

What that moment told us about Garcia

At issue was whether to put the brakes on three mobile home parks that landowners want to redevelop.

There’s a lot of nuance at play over the legalities of a moratorium and the fact that all displaced residents qualify for funding that the city had previously approved.

But the moment crystalized Garcia’s role on the council as the voice of the poor and powerless who can easily be shut out of a government system designed to favor a certain segment of the population.

García is leaving the council after only one term in office, the first incumbent to lose the seat in recent memory.

His loss wasn’t entirely shocking, since Gallego had made it a priority to oust and replace him with political newcomer Kesha Hodge Washington.

She takes over on April 17.

He often butted heads with Gallego

From the get-go, García butted heads with the mayor, who relied on the council’s conservative members to kill or weaken García’s mission to hold police accountable.

A community organizer who gained notoriety over protesting Sheriff Joe Arpaio, García took office in June 2019. He pushed for civilian oversight of Phoenix Police in use of force and other misconduct investigations.

That angered police unions and antagonized Gallego, who wasn’t entirely on board with García’s bolder proposals.

After a lot of political maneuvering – and legal battles with the state – García can pride himself by leaving behind a new police accountability office.

It remains to be seen whether that office will indeed foster trust between police and the residents who say they’re unfairly targeted by cops.

But it’s clear that wouldn’t exist without García’s tenacity and unapologetic fight on behalf of those often ignored by city leaders.

García backed the poor. Will new members?

On Wednesday, García left the council with his head high, knowing he used his voice loudly. García called Gallego and her allies’ move to silence residents “cowardly.”

That final faceoff with the mayor didn’t result in any concrete help to the many residents who packed City Hall. They will still soon be evicted.

But it sure showed them that he had their backs, and that’s important.

At some point, García turned to incoming council members Kesha Hodge Washington and Kevin Robinson and essentially urged them not to follow Gallego blindly or to take residents’ “lives for granted.”

Garcia’s departure represents a turning point for the less fortunate who need champions like him on the council. And things could get worse since Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari, who often sided with García, is seeking a congressional bid.

Pastor also is considering a run.

Let’s hope Hodge Washington and Robinson won’t silence residents and instead become a voice for those most in need.

That includes residents facing eviction with no place else to go.

Elvia Díaz is the editorial page editor for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Carlos Garcia fought the mayor on his way out. Good for him