Renaming a downtown Phoenix light rail hub after Rep. Greg Stanton is on hold. Here's why

The City Council's effort to rename a downtown light rail hub after U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton faced pushback Monday from the public body that makes recommendations for renaming government buildings.

Members of the Phoenix Heritage Commission first rejected the request from Mayor Kate Gallego and six City Council members, citing concerns about inadequate public input and uncertainty over whether Stanton personally wanted the hub at Central Avenue and Van Buren Street named after him. Then, the commission requested additional information and voted to rehear the case in June.

"Seemingly, we didn't follow a public process," Commission Chair Dan Garcia said. The guidelines for renaming buildings "seem to require that there be community comments, community engagement. I'm not seeing that in this application."

"Let's hear from Stanton," another commissioner said. "I'd like to hear him tell us what he wants and gather information from the public."

The commissioners also expressed discomfort about being placed in the middle of a dispute after community members and family of the late U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor said there had been an informal plan to name the hub for Pastor.

"The state is so lucky to have both Congressman Pastor and Stanton as champions," Commissioner Keely Varvel Hartsell said. "Because of the frustration over the process and how this kind of came to be, I really hate that there seems to be a cloud now over (recognizing) Congressman Stanton."

Other commissions expressed similar concerns about not wanting to tarnish Stanton's reputation and emphasized that their issues were purely procedural, not with the congressman.

Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua previously acknowledged casual conversations about renaming the downtown hub for Pastor but denied city officials made promises, explaining that only the City Council has that authority. But on Monday, Pastor family members accused the city of reneging and rushing the process.

Other community members joined the Pastor family in speaking out against the Stanton rename, saying it was premature and suggesting Stanton's reputation, while reputable now, could sour over time.

"After 9/11, I was a big Rudy Guiliani fan," said Robert Pastor, nephew of Ed Pastor. "I don't have that opinion of Mr. Guiliani today. The Greg Stanton story is not finished being written."

The Heritage Commission is slated to rehear the renaming application June 17. It is unclear when the City Council will take a final vote. The Heritage Commission's recommendation is not binding, meaning the City Council can ultimately vote however it wants.

What led to the light rail renaming controversy?

The Heritage Commission vote came after the mayor, Vice Mayor Debra Stark and Councilmembers Jim Waring and Carlos Galindo-Elvira asked the City Council on May 13 to consider starting the process to rename the hub for Stanton, a Democrat and former Phoenix mayor, at their May 15 voting meeting.

The council voted 7-2 at the meeting to initiate the process, with Councilmembers Laura Pastor and Betty Guardado voting no.

What issues the commission had with City Council's request

Commissioners stressed Monday their issues had nothing to do with the reputation of Stanton but rather with the process by which the request came to fruition.

Typically, the process for renaming government buildings is initiated by a city department and begins at the Historic Preservation Office. The city department drafts an application that includes, among other things, evidence of public support and direct approval from the family for whom the city wants to name the building.

Once the Historic Preservation Office confirms the application is ready, the Heritage Commission votes on whether to recommend approval to City Council. City Council has the ultimate say.

In the case of the Stanton renaming, the request came first from the City Council, which confused one commissioner.

Staff confirmed requests have occasionally been initiated by City Council. Last week, Gallego pointed to when the City Council requested and voted unanimously to rename Terminal 3 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 2017 to honor U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died the next year.

But more than chronology, some commission members said they were concerned the council's application didn't show evidence of public support and direct confirmation from Stanton that he approved of the renaming.

City staff said Stanton hold told elected officials he was honored, but the commission had not received a direct letter from the congressman.

Chairman Garcia called the application "incomplete."

Stanton has not returned requests for comment from The Arizona Republic.

Why is this a Pastor vs. Stanton debate?

The crux of the renaming controversy revolves around the city's plans for its existing Ed Pastor Transit Center in south Phoenix at Central Avenue and Broadway Road.

The center is operating with dwindling activity, and city officials have considered redeveloping it — though that requires a majority approval from the City Council.

Gallego and councilmembers in support of renaming the downtown hub for Stanton emphasized this point, saying they don't want to nix the transit center and would instead prefer to make it better. Given that intent, they suggested it wouldn't make sense to have two transit centers named for Pastor.

Pastor family members were skeptical of the council's comments, though, and are worried the center will eventually close its transit portion, or shift the focus away.

Public transit was a focus of Ed Pastor's, so the family wants his name recognized at a transit center.

Commission hopes for 'slower path forward'

Commissioner Kenja Hassan urged the city to take "a slower path forward" and "talk out how both men can be honored equitably" at the downtown hub.

Hassan suggested city leaders consider a joint naming or another solution so that "everybody feels the love and the honor we want to give them."

Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix panel stalls naming rail station for lack of public input