Late congressman's family played politics over a Phoenix light rail hub — and lost

Give it up for the newest Phoenix Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira, who publicly stood up to bullying.

Galindo-Elvira, who last month was appointed to represent District 7, abstained from voting on Wednesday on the first step toward naming a downtown light rail hub in honor of U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton because his employer was contacted over it.

Turns out the person who contacted his employer, Chicanos por la Causa, was Verma Pastor, seeking to name the transit hub after her late husband, U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, instead of Stanton.

Calling the employer of a councilman to influence the vote is problematic enough. But Verma is on the board of Chicanos por La Causa or CPLC.

Why lobby a councilman's employer?

Their daughter, Laura Pastor, is a Phoenix councilwoman who unsuccessfully tried to rally support to name the light rail hub on Central Avenue and Van Buren Street after her dad, not Stanton.

Phoenix already operates the Ed Pastor Transit Center in south Phoenix, so it’s not like the city is simply snubbing the late congressman’s legacy. More on that later.

Verma confirmed to The Arizona Republic’s Taylor Seely that she called the chair of CPLC “hoping for support” and hoping CPLC could relay that to Galindo-Elvira.

Why not pick up the phone and call him directly? Did she call the employers of the rest of the council members?

I bet not.

This shows the politics played in Phoenix

Chicanos por la Causa is one of the largest Latino groups in the nation. Its spokesperson, María Jesús Cervantes, told me the agency supports naming the new light rail hub in honor of Ed Pastor but said it had “no overt or undue influence in the City Council vote.”

Galindo-Elvira wouldn’t say how he found out, but he knew and felt compelled to recuse himself, which was the right thing to do. That indicates somebody got to him.

He later told me his abstention in practice meant a “yes” vote, per city rules. He also stressed that his employer “has been solidly supportive of my role on the Phoenix City Council and do not attempt to sway my view or votes on the council.”

Whatever is going on behind the scenes, he clearly stood for transparency publicly, signaling he won’t be easily manipulated even by a powerful local family like the Pastors.

Phoenix tried to secretly anoint: Its next councilman

But it does illustrate how difficult his job on the council will be, the kind of politics that is played here and perhaps the level of power of the Pastor family, or their dwindling influence built on the legacy of Ed Pastor, who died at the end of 2018.

All council members on Wednesday had nothing but great things to say about Ed Pastor, the first Hispanic from Arizona elected to Congress and who served in that chamber for more than two decades.

I remember the Democratic congressman working quietly but ferociously to secure tons of federal money for Phoenix and the region.

Pastor fought for light rail. But so did Stanton

Undoubtedly, Ed Pastor is credited for getting the initial light rail off the ground.

“Without Ed Pastor, there’s no light rail,” Stanton said at the time of Pastor’s death in 2018. But it’s also true that Stanton during his tenure as Phoenix mayor has been a champion of light rail and public transit.

Everyone agrees both men deserve recognition. But how we got to this point is the problem.

The Pastor family argued that city staff had contemplated redeveloping the existing Ed Pastor Transit Center at Central Avenue and Broadway Road and thus wanted to secure the Pastor legacy elsewhere.

City officials confirmed informal talks were held but nothing has been decided.

All that was news to several council members, which tells me it would have been smart to delay moving forward at least until things are sorted out.

This transit hub fight isn't over

This isn’t the last word over this transit naming.

Phoenix’s Heritage Commission will still need consider the city’s request and send it back to the City Council for a final vote.

That means Councilwomen Laura Pastor and Betty Guardado, the only no votes on Wednesday, could give their fight another go.

But one thing is certain. Calling the employers of council members isn’t the way to go — not on this or anything else.

Elvia Díaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona 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: Phoenix light rail hub naming caught in petty small-town politics