Phoenix City Council needs a shake-up. Which District 8 candidate would bring it?

Opinion: City Council candidates Carlos Garcia and Mike Johnson are polar opposites, making this race one of the most consequential for Phoenix.

Editorial board
Arizona Republic

The shuffling at Phoenix City Hall that began a year ago will finally come to an end next month when voters head to the polls in a runoff that pits Latinos against African-Americans on the city's south side and two Latinas in the west.

Vania Guevara, the councilwoman appointed to replace Daniel Valenzuela, faces union activist Betty Guardado in District 5.

Activist Carlos Garcia is facing former Phoenix councilman Mike Johnson in District 8, which spans from downtown and nearby Sky Harbor International Airport to south Phoenix.

The winners of both districts will undoubtedly shape council dynamics. But Garcia and Johnson’s contrasting personalities, priorities and approaches to the job could have the greatest consequences citywide.

In this race, it's insider vs. outsider

Johnson is a classic city hall insider. The retired Phoenix police detective represented District 8 from 2002 to 2013. He’s an African-American with deep roots in south Phoenix, a predominantly Hispanic area that also has the city's largest concentration of blacks.

Garcia is the ultimate city hall outsider. Born in Cananea in the Mexican state of Sonora, Garcia chose south Phoenix to raise his young family. It is also where he has led his group Puente Arizona on high-profile immigrant protests against President Trump, the state government and Phoenix City Hall.

While Johnson is a staunch Blue Lives Matter-type backed by unions, Garcia is an ardent critic of police behavior, especially in their interaction with minorities.

Johnson is a consummate politician, touting extensive work with such groups as St. Luke's Medical Center Board, Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission, National Forum of Black Public Administrators and the Greater Phoenix Urban League.

Garcia is an activist who challenges authority and conventional wisdom.

Both men, from all indications, have the city’s best interests at heart.

Where do Garcia and Johnson differ?

District 8 candidates Carlos Garcia (left)  and  Mike Johnson (right) speak with the editorial board of the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Ariz. on Tue. April 16, 2019. The two candidates will face off in a May 21 runoff election.

Garcia’s priorities include improving parks, public transportation and the visual elements along streets. He recently helped organize the "4 lanes or no train" group to oppose the planned south Phoenix light-rail extension along Central Avenue. 

That effort has morphed into a ballot initiative that would not only put the brakes on the south Phoenix extension but halt all future light rail. The measure is up for a public vote in a special election on Aug. 27.

Garcia explained that he supports light rail and that he got involved only because city hall ignored area residents and business owners in the first place. He said the effort, which was to make the extension better, has been essentially “hijacked” by light rail opponents.

Johnson, on the other hand, was on the city council when it light rail launched in Phoenix and has said he's against the ballot initiative, but that he would work with community members to maintain four lanes on Central.

Where do they stand on police?

As an immigrant organizer, Garcia has long been critical of police conduct with minorities, saying that most of the officer-involved shootings occur in south and west Phoenix.

He advocates for a citizens advisory panel with subpoena power to review police use-of-force incidents and build the public’s trust, especially in minority-heavy neighborhoods. The citizens board is necessary, he says, because the police union’s power restricts Police Chief Jeri Williams. Still, Garcia says he would look at “police officers with the same humanity as everyone else.”

Johnson disagrees with Garcia’s characterization of police conduct and emphasized officers are responsible for everyone, not just migrants. “I don’t think the majority of the city of Phoenix is afraid of the Phoenix Police Department,” he said.

Johnson would give Chief Williams a vote of confidence. 

Technically, the only person the nine-member city council can hire and fire is the city manager, Ed Zuercher, who has been under incessant attacks by Councilman Sal DiCiccio. DiCiccio’s bouts with Zuercher have prompted council colleagues to call him out.

Both Johnson and Garcia say Zuercher is doing a good job.  

Who would best serve District 8 today?

District 8 residents have a tough choice in the May 21 runoff.

And we can appreciate the history: This seat was held by an African-American for 40 years. African-Americans make up roughly 15 percent of the district’s 183,000 residents, while Latinos represent 60 percent.

But just as Calvin Goode, Cody Williams and Johnson served the district well from 1971 to 2013, Carlos Garcia has the aptitude, tenacity and capacity to serve everyone in the district.

District 8 is populated with working people who are often neglected by city hall. They need an advocate who can get the attention of city leaders and a put a hard focus on the challenges that face the district, including failing infrastructure, underdeveloped pockets, empty lots and deteriorating K-12 public schools.

In the past, Johnson was a no-waves councilman. In the future, District 8 needs a make-waves representative, someone assertive and demanding, like Garcia. 

Yes, we disagree with him on light rail and the police chief. Garcia will need to temper his instincts as an activist to thunder and make demands – the council role also calls for the abilities to persuade and collaborate.

But we believe Garcia can be a strong, independent voice when challenging council colleagues, police, city management and powerful groups influencing city hall. 

That is what District 8 – and Phoenix – needs most now.

This is an opinion of The Republic's editorial board. What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor to weigh in.