“As we navigated the system in looking for answers and accountability on police violence, we faced endless roadblocks in obtaining police reports, investigative reports, personal belongings of our loved ones and access to resources,” Hernandez said at a press conference introducing the bill. In a statement provided to New Times, Ortiz called Hernandez “the only candidate who can be trusted to advocate for mean- ingful transparency, accountability and reform for the Phoenix Police Department.” While Hernandez is more than willing to call out bad policing, she refutes the notion that she hates cops, with whom she’ll need to have a productive relationship if elected. She said she has engaged with law enforce- ment for years and doesn’t shy away from those relationships. Her main issue is the fundamental role of the cop in Phoenix and more broadly — though, like many already on the council, she’s not sure if a consent decree with the DOJ is the answer to Phoenix’s issues. “We’ve become this society that wants to use police to address every single social issue we have. It’s not good for anybody,” Hernandez said. “We have to look at public safety through a different lens. And that’s part of the work, right?” Housing and Homelessness Policing may be the buzziest issue Phoenix faces, but it’s hardly the only one. While Hernandez knocked doors in downtown Phoenix, the first concern many residents raised was about Phoenix’s twin crises. “Housing and homelessness come up every day on the doors,” she said. On the issue of housing, Hernandez has shown the ability to work across the aisle. She was a leader in the Senate on bipar- tisan solutions for housing problems, spon- soring a bill to legalize the construction of accessory dwelling units — commonly called casitas — to help alleviate the state’s housing shortage. The bill passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support before being signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs. It was a rare win for those trying to address the housing crisis. “People don’t want to change the status quo to actually bring solutions,” Hernandez said. “So what I was able to lead on these past two years has been huge and unheard of because nobody ever can get that done.” The bill was opposed by the League of Cities and Towns, including Phoenix, which objected to the fact that the bill allowed casitas to be used as short-term rentals. That clash played out in public earlier this month. At an Oct. 8 council meeting, Mayor Gallego engaged in a rare, seemingly forced moment of name-dropping. Usually averse to saying anything all that confrontational, Gallego called out Hernandez for her role in passing the bill over the city’s opposition. “We got some pushback even from Phoenix’s own legislators. For example, state Sen. Anna Hernandez,” Gallego said, going on to read a Hernandez quote about how exclusionary zoning was a bigger issue than allowing casitas to be used as Airbnbs. “It’s just very disappointing.” In a statement to New Times, Gallego noted that she “often comment(s) on the work of the Arizona Legislature, and how it continuously preempts cities from making common sense decisions.” While she noted she usually directs such comments at Republicans, “in this case it was Senator Hernandez who worked with big developer lobbyists to pass some pretty bad policies.” Gallego added that the city attempted to work with Hernandez on the bill but found little traction. To Hernandez, the episode was a sign that the city’s priorities are out of whack. She feels Phoenix needs immediate fixes to housing and homelessness, not long- delayed perfect ones. “We’re never going to find one solution to the housing problem or the homeless- ness problem,” she said. “But we have to have the political courage to say, ‘Hey, we need to address this, and these are the different steps we can take.’” One step would address the Valley’s eviction crisis, which was on pace to break records earlier this year. Hernandez wants to create a right-to-counsel program for people who are evicted, something she and her campaign manager, Luke Black, say would cost between $500,000 and $1 million in city funds and would prevent homelessness ahead of time. That should be a pittance for a city the size of Phoenix, Black said. But, he noted that “the city can’t find that money in a budget where they’re already giving close to $1 billion to the police. There’s a wild disconnect.” Passing meaningful housing reform — rather than more camping bans that target the city’s sizable unhoused population — would make for an uphill battle. Phoenix’s centrist councilmembers are cozy with landlords, Black claims. Campaign finance records show that in 2023, Phoenix Association of Realtors donated more than $100,000 to the political action committee Invest in Phx, which is run by associates of Mayor Gallego, Ansari and Councilmember Kesha Hodge Washington. The realtors association also has endorsed Quiñonez. “One of the ways folks end up homeless is through the rental market. It’s through evictions and predatory landlords,” Black said. “We have to remember that the polit- ical establishment is not interested in changing this, which is why we see the landlords endorsing Marcelino. We know that they benefit from the status quo, and they made a move to support the person that would keep the status quo in place.” Gallego campaign spokesperson Kevin Kirchmeier noted the realtors association contributed to the Phoenix Bond campaign, which will “invest more than $55 million in affordable housing,” including in the district Hernandez is running to represent. Kirchmeier also criticized Hernandez’s support from the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, which he claimed prompted her to change her position on Senate Bill 1172, which affected groundwater pumping rights. Hernandez was the lone Democrat to support it and afterward, Kirchmeier said, “the Home Builders Association repaid the favor” and donated $1,000 to Hernandez’s city council campaign. Gov. Katie Hobbs ultimately vetoed the bill. The Home Builders Association also gave the same amount to councilmembers Ann O’Brien, Jim Waring and J.J. Martinez, who is challenging councilmember Betty Guardado in District 5. Last election cycle, the association donated $1,000 each to Waring and Washington. When asked about the opposition to her housing plans, Hernandez can only laugh. “It’s funny because my work on housing has become so much more controversial than my work on policing,” she said. “I guess I wasn’t prepared for that.” CHallenges aHead If Hernandez wins, though, she better prepare for a fight. She’ll be walking into a lion’s den of pre-existing opposition at City Hall. The first step is coming out on top Nov. 5, or at least finishing high enough to advance to the run-off election in March. In a crowded field, most of the support seems to be coalescing around Hernandez and Quiñonez. Both Hernandez and Black suspect Gallego recruited Quiñonez to run because he is unlikely to challenge the status quo. Kirchmeier said Gallego “encouraged” Quiñonez to run, though Quiñonez could not be reached for comment. That echoes a race in 2023, when outspoken, progressive Councilmember Carlos Garcia was unseated by Washington, whom Mayor Gallego endorsed. New Times was unable to reach Garcia to speak about his experience as one of the council’s progressive voices. Black said Mayor Gallego’s firm opposi- tion and attack on Hernandez show how determined the mayor is to preserve the status quo. “This is the mayor’s council. She has built this council over time by strategically recruiting candidates to run in races. The result of that has been, at this point the mayor controls at least five votes,” Black said. “What that has meant for this city is we’re in a housing crisis with no solutions. We’re in an eviction and rent crisis If state Sen. Anna Hernandez wins a spot on the Phoenix City Council, she’ll face challenges getting measures past the council’s centrist majority. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) Rep. Analise Ortiz (left) and Sen. Anna Hernandez (right) proposed the “Family Bill of Rights” during a press conference at the Arizona State Capitol in January. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) >> p xx On A Mission from p 16 >> p 20
