8 June 11th - June 17th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | During this hardship, he experienced one of many times in his life when he saw people be kind just for the sake of it. He calls these “solidarity stories.” When he and other unemployed workers were protesting at the unemployment office, another man who received his unemployment check offered Tapscott groceries for his family. “He was going through the same thing like hundreds of us were,” Tapscott said. In 1987, Tapscott moved to Arizona to find a new career and be near his retired parents. He earned a master’s degree in clin- ical social work and worked as a clinical director for the Phoenix Fire Department, setting up emergency response systems in the aftermaths of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. He traveled to the sites of these disasters and helped the firefighters working there. This was Tapscott’s final job before he retired in 2012. He wanted to spend his twilight years woodworking and improving the piano skills he’d first honed when he joined an experimental jazz garage band as a teenager. He also wanted to stay socially active through community service, though that’s turned out to be far more involved than Tapscott ever imagined. ‘This is on us’ Lately, that’s meant the weekly food events for Tempe’s unhoused. Davis had spear- headed that effort for a few years, holding his mutual aid events in city parks without a problem. But in 2022, Tempe required him to obtain a permit to operate, citing city code. He applied for one but was rejected because he’d continued to hold events. Rather than stop the feedings, which unhoused people relied upon, he continued to host them despite the city’s refusal to permit them. In 2023, the city issued its first citation to Davis. He was arrested in 2024. The “picnics” could have ground to a halt after that, if not for Tapscott. He and Wells created New Deal Meal, which they styled as a private club to avoid the code’s restrictions on “public gatherings.” It was a clever attempt at squeezing through a loophole in city code, though Tapscott was apparently doubtful about its prospects. “He was very pessimistic from his past experience with the city,” Wells said. “And turned out he was right.” In January 2025, the city cited Tapscott for continuing to hold the park events. In May, though, the city prose- cutor dropped the charge “in the interest of justice.” That may be the signal of a larger trend in Tempe government, which is feeling the heat from its residents. After the city council passed an even more restrictive parks ordinance — seemingly aimed squarely at mutual aid efforts led by Tapscott and Davis — Tapscott and others launched an effort to put a repeal measure for the ordinance on the ballot. After petitioners turned in enough signatures to do just that, the council voted unanimously to repeal the divisive ordinance. Notably, any repeal measure would have appeared on the same ballot as several councilmembers running for reelection, possibly endangering their chances of retaining office. Even without the repeal measure driving turnout, sitting councilmembers didn’t get off easy. Out of three incumbents facing reelection, two were defeated by upstart challengers in a late-May runoff. Tapscott hopes the new council is better than the old one. For the city’s part, Tempe spokesperson Kris Baxter-Ging wrote to New Times in an email that “this April, the City of Tempe partnered with Tempe Neighbors Together, which the Tapscotts have been involved with, for its annual food and resource drive.” Baxter- Ging also noted that Tempe “works with dozens of nonprofits and provides exten- sive funding for them,” including “advo- cacy groups for homeless services as well as those who address the root causes of homelessness.” Perhaps that means more collaborative days are on the horizon for Tapscott and Tempe. But if they aren’t, he’s prepared to buzz just as loudly as he did before. He’ll keep poking city leadership in the side until they make things work as intended. As far as he’s concerned, no one else is going to do it. “The guardrails in the systems have been broken down,” he said. “This is on us.” On a Mission from p 7 Tempe dismissed a citation against Ron Tapscott for feeding unhoused people without a permit in city parks. (TJ L’Heureux)
