Phoenix swears in new councilmember, former DeConcini aide and Chicanos por la Causa man

Carlos Galindo-Elvira, the former mayor of the small Arizona town of Hayden, was sworn into Phoenix City Council Tuesday after Mayor Kate Gallego and a majority of council members appointed him.

He will serve the remainder of former Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari's term representing parts of downtown, Laveen and Estrella Village.

Galindo-Elvira will represent roughly 200,000 residents in District 7 until at least November when residents will cast votes in a special vacancy election and regular election. The special vacancy election winner will take over shortly after the Nov. 5 election until mid-April, when the regular election winner will be sworn in for a full 4-year term.

Galindo-Elvira has filed paperwork to run for the special election vacancy but has pledged not to run for the 4-year term, telling councilmembers he had "no intention of seeking this appointment to launch or further a political career."

The vacancy occurred after Ansari resigned last month to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. The council voted for Galindo-Elvira 6-1. Councilman Jim Waring voted no.

Waring said he liked Galindo-Elvira but was standing by his long-held belief that appointments should be given to those without intentions to pursue the seat permanently and those registered politically independent. Galindo-Elvira is a Democrat.

Other applicants included Michael Nowakowski, the former District 7 councilman; Gilbert Arvizu, a longtime community advocate; and Lisa Perez, a Phoenix Planning Commissioner.

Galindo-Elvira currently serves as director of community engagement at Chicanos por la Causa, a non-profit organization founded to combat discrimination against Mexican Americans. Galindo-Elvira previously worked as an assistant to U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini. He said he authored anti-discrimination policies and ordinances to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid holiday in Hayden.

In his pitch to City Council Tuesday, Galindo-Elvira said, "Be assured when it's time to stand a stance, I won't be shy." But, he added, he would be respectful during disagreement and not diminish someone for holding a different viewpoint.

He also pledged to donate his council salary to non-profit organizations that address the needs of District 7.

Councilmembers asked applicants a variety of big-picture and targeted questions that focused on district issues and whether the applicants intended to run for the 4-year terms. Questions were also asked about support for the police department and applicants' stances on the Department of Justice's investigation into Phoenix police and reform.

Galindo-Elvira mostly won them over by his commitment to not pursue the seat for a 4-year term in November, but they also appeared to like his answers. He said he wanted genuine, culturally sensitive community outreach, and that he supported and respected the police department.

"We need to be supportive of our police department," he said.

Tuesday's appointment put to bed weeks of rumors that former state Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez was interested in the position. State law appears to forbid state legislators from seeking other public offices during their term, but Quiñonez's abrupt resignation last week raised questions about whether the council might appoint him anyway.

Speculation that Quiñonez was the mayor's preferred candidate lingered for weeks at City Hall, the state legislature, among neighborhood groups and online.

City Attorney Julie Kriegh briefed the mayor and some council offices separately last week on the prospect of appointing a legislator. Kriegh pointed to state law and opinions from Arizona's former governor and attorney general, Bruce Babbitt, according to Derrik Rochwalik, chief of staff to Councilmember Ann O'Brien.

The Arizona Constitution bars a member of the legislature from holding other public offices "during the term for which he shall have been elected or appointed."

In November 1977, Babbitt said the provision "on its face, clearly prohibits the taking of any other office or employment during the elective term, whether or not the legislator resigns."

The opinion was in response to a legislator who asked about resigning to accept an appointment by the governor, but Babbitt said the rationale also applied to those seeking local office in an opinion he wrote two weeks later.

Councilmember Kesha Hodge Washington said the briefing also reviewed the lack of Arizona case law precedent on the issue.

What happens next?

Galindo-Elvira plans to run for the special vacancy election but not the regular election. If he is successful in the special election, he would serve on City Council for until April 21, 2025. At that date, the regular election winner would be sworn in for four years.

Nowakowski said Tuesday he still planned to run for the special vacancy and regular elections.

Perez said she was considering bowing out of the special election to instead allow Galindo-Elvira to remain in office. Then, she would run only for the regular elections. Her rationale, she said, was to create more seamless representation for the district.

Perez is currently a Phoenix Planning Commissioner, Estrella Village Planning Committee member and Fowler Elementary School Board governing member. Privately, she works in public affairs. Perez pitched herself as a resourceful and competent candidate who would balance big-picture issues such as climate change with constituent issues, such as streetlights, feral cats or bulk trash pick-up.

Other candidates who have filed to run for the special election include Emilio Solís and Martyn Bridgeman.

Solís and Bridgeman did not ask to be appointed to the seat.

Legal questions loomed over Nowakowski

Shortly before Tuesday's meeting, Nowakowski's attorney Tim LaSota sent a letter to the mayor and City Council contending the city charter's term limit rules did not preclude Nowakowski from seeking the appointment.

City charter limits council members to three consecutive 4-year terms as a council person and two consecutive 4-year terms as a mayor. The question was whether Nowakowski was eligible since Ansari had not finished a full 4-year term and thus Nowakowski had not been out of office yet for a full 4-year term.

It is unclear who raised the legal questions initially, but in the meeting, Waring addressed the question head-on.

Kriegh told the council the charter didn't speak to the matter, thus it would need to be resolved in court.

Council did not address Nowakowski's residence during the meeting, which is listed on the Maricopa County Assessor's website as a residential rental. His other property is located in District 8.

Nowakowski told The Arizona Republic his property was formerly rented by his son, but that he moved back into the property permanently at the start of 2024.

Nowakowski's 13-year tenure on City Council included several controversies toward the end. The Attorney General's Office investigated him over a land-deal between the city and his employer. No wrongdoing was found.

The LGBTQ community criticized him after a video surfaced showing him talking about his opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender individuals using the restroom of their choice. Residents unsuccessfully tried to recall him.

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 swears in new councilmember, a former DeConcini aide