| D8 Open Door ERA Event with Vice Mayor Carlos Garcia | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2098 | | City Council District 8 | 9/28/2021 6:00:00 PM | | https://youtu.be/VWNC4Ftdn2w | D8 Open Door ERA Event with Vice Mayor Carlos Garcia | <div class="ExternalClass181BF207529D4FA6BCA6A7B2B3938D48"><html>The City of Phoenix has millions of dollars available to help pay the rent and utility bills of Phoenix residents impacted by COVID-19. Vice Mayor Garcia along with Earl and Mary Rose Wilcox of the Grant Park Barrio Youth Program, sponsored an event at Grant Park where residents could talk directly to staff that run the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Residents were able to ask staff questions about getting financial help for rent and utilities as well as booking an official appointment to receive assistance.
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| Rent Relief Event Hosted by Vice Mayor Garcia and Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2062 | | City Council District 8 | 9/15/2021 5:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2062/FINAL_ENG_Rent Assistance Event.png | | Rent Relief Event Hosted by Vice Mayor Garcia and Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox | <div class="ExternalClass5175C958C044449F90F0A57064F6C23B"><html>
<strong>When:</strong> Saturday, September 18th 11a.m. - 2 p.m.<br><br><strong>Where:</strong> Grant Park, 701 S 3rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85003 <br><br><strong>What:</strong> Vice Mayor Carlos Garcia and Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox are hosting an event for community members to receive information and resources about financial assistance to pay rent and utility bills. The event will also host legal aid for evictions, food boxes (until supplies last), and other community resources to support community still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the event, community members will be able to speak directly to City of Phoenix Human Services staff to start the rent and utility relief application process. <br><br>The City of Phoenix has an Emergency Rental Assistance program that is available to Phoenix residents regardless of citizenship or immigration status. For more information: Phoenix.gov/RentHelp.<br><a href="/district8site/Documents/FINAL%20PRINT%20FLYER_RENT%20RESOURCE.pdf" target="_blank"><p style="text-align:center;"><br>Click to download the event flyer<strong> </strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><img style="margin:5px;width:431px;height:280px;" src="/district8site/MediaAssets/FINAL_ENG_Rent%20Assistance%20Event.png" /><br><img style="margin:5px;width:431px;height:279px;" src="/district8site/MediaAssets/FINAL_SPA_Rent%20Assistance%20Event.png" /><br></strong></p></a>
<br></html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Phoenix’s New City Manager Jeff Barton | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2055 | | City Council District 8 | 9/8/2021 11:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2055/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Phoenix’s New City Manager Jeff Barton | <div class="ExternalClass95D33BF15A3644F1B49B33932C08AFAA"><html>"Today, my colleagues and I officially selected Jeff Barton as the next City Manager in a historic vote. Jeff is the first Black person to be appointed as City Manager. He is the best choice to lead us into the city's next chapter. <br><br>Jeff has a long history at the City of Phoenix, starting as an Auditor and working his way up the last 22 years. He has most recently guided the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring Phoenicians have access to funds and resources needed to move forward.<br><br>Jeff is extremely passionate about serving our residents and keeping city operations running efficiently. I look forward to working with him to serve the residents of District 8."<br><br></html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| On Labor Day Weekend: Workers Demand Build Back Better for All | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2051 | | City Council District 8 | 9/6/2021 6:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2051/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | On Labor Day Weekend: Workers Demand Build Back Better for All | <div class="ExternalClass5B9CD1E36A4F4446B94194EDB46B7E25"><html>
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<td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:100%;"><p style="text-align:center;"><em style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">A broad coalition of national and local progressive unions and organizations will host a town hall to demand access to jobs and protections from retaliation in the workplace for Black workers, women, immigrant workers, and other groups impacted by racism and discrimination </em><br></p>
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<strong>What</strong>: Build Back Better for All Phoenix Town Hall</p>
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<strong>Who</strong>: Vice Mayor Carlos Garcia, Councilwoman Ansari, Councilwoman Guardado, AFL-CIO Arizona, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Unemployed Workers United, and Puente Human Rights Movement</p>
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<strong>When</strong>: Today, Monday, September 6th at 1pm</p>
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<strong>Where</strong>: 210 N 24th St, Phoenix, AZ 85034<em> </em></p>
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<strong>September 6th, Phoenix </strong> – Vice Mayor Garcia, AFL-CIO Arizona, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Unemployed Workers United, and Puente Human Rights Movement are hosting<strong> Build Back Better for All</strong> a town hall meeting to demand the White House and local electeds take bold action for all workers now. </p>
<p>First, they are asking the Biden-Harris administration to update and strengthen <strong>Executive Order 11246 </strong>- Equal Employment Opportunity. This Executive Order, still in effect, was enacted in 1965 under the Johnson administration but has not been updated since 2014 when President Obama amended it to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Updating this executive order would expand access to Black workers and other workers facing employment discrimination and ensure that any infrastructure legislative package gives employment opportunities to the communities that have been denied access to good jobs due to systemic racism. </p>
<p>Second, the town hall seeks to highlight the urgent need for immigrant worker protections - including deportation forbearance and work authorization - to remove the threat of deportation for workers that have denounced abuse and unsafe work conditions. In the midst of a pandemic of workplace abuse, too many employers use threats of deportation when workers begin to organize, denounce abuses, unsafe conditions, and demand better working conditions. Members of the Better for All campaign, are asking the Biden-Harris administration to work with local and federal agencies to create an affirmative relief program that protects immigrant workers from immigration-based retaliation in the workplace. </p>
<p>In 2011, DHS and DOL, and other federal agencies approved an MOU to ensure that immigration enforcement activities would not undermine workers' rights. Years later, the lack of a transparent process or guidance from the agencies, combined with the heightened threat of ICE targeting immigrant workers, has left many workers involved in labor disputes at risk of deportation. Failing to protect immigrant workers asserting their workplace rights will leave millions in limbo and stripped from protections as the country moves into a new phase for our national infrastructure. </p>
<p>Third, workers are demanding better protections from the city of Phoenix especially as it relates to wages and worker protections during and after the pandemic. </p>
<p>The Better for All town halls starting on September 4th are taking place in Phoenix, AZ, Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, Denver, CO and will continue throughout the month in the Southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Las Vegas, NV, and Los Angeles, CA. Workers and advocates want to see action from both federal and local leaders to address the issues systematically plaguing frontline workers. </p>
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<em>Members of the Better For All campaign came together in 2021 with a shared goal to advance all workers' rights by centering the needs of Black and Immigrant workers and highlighting specific actions President Biden and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh can take to improve working conditions and accessibility to good union jobs. </em>
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</html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Ballard Spahr’s Investigations into Phoenix Police’s Challenge Coin and Criminal Street Gang Charges Filed Against “ACAB” | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2023 | | City Council District 8 | 8/12/2021 7:30:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2023/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Ballard Spahr’s Investigations into Phoenix Police’s Challenge Coin and Criminal Street Gang Charges Filed Against “ACAB” | <div class="ExternalClassD30E2F07D32042288F4C6F8D18ACB98E"><html>
<p>“Last February, myself, alongside my colleagues Councilwoman Pastor and Councilwoman Guardado, called for an independent investigation of the Phoenix Police Department. In response, we were given the Ballard Spahr investigations released today. The contents of these reports are not a surprise. The members of our community that elected us to serve have repeatedly told us exactly what these reports confirm. In response, other colleagues on this council have shut down, ignored, and ridiculed the real experiences of our residents. The injustices outlined in these reports have and will continue to destroy people's lives if we don't take serious and swift action to rectify these egregious harms. I call on my colleagues and city staff to take these immediate action steps:<br></p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Leadership and all those connected to these reports should be held accountable. We must fire Officer McBride and all other officers involved. Every officer that declined to participate in the investigations must also be reprimanded. What the City Manager and Chief of Police have done today is not enough.<br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Every officer involved in these reports and those who refused to participate in these investigations must be placed on a public list and never hold someone's liberty in their hands again.<br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>The City Attorney must notify the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO) of all officers involved in these reports, including those that refused to cooperate and who witnessed what occurred. MCAO attorneys have a duty to then review these reports, audit all court cases, and disclose potential officer integrity issues.<br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>The Downtown Operations Unit, Tactical Response Unit, Gang Enforcement Unit, and Special Investigations Detail must be immediately disbanded. There is an established pattern that these units and their officers engage in unconstitutional and unjust actions that harm the public they are supposed to serve. <br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>It is clear the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association contains barriers that consistently help our officers evade accountability. The next MOU must go through a public negotiation process and city staff has a duty to renegotiate the components named in these reports that are a barrier to timely and thorough investigations. <br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>The Department of Justice must take immediate action in response to these reports. We cannot wait a year for another investigation that tells us what we already know. <br></li></ul><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Finally, I demand that a special meeting is called by the city on Tuesday August 24th to address these reports and take these immediate action steps.<br><br></li></ul><p>We cannot allow this to become another report that collects dust on a shelf while we sit back and watch lives continue to be ruined. The Department of Justice affirmed that we as a city should not hesitate to take any actions now to address the systemic issues in our police department that impede justice and accountability. There are no more excuses."<br><br><b><a href="/district8site/Documents/District8Letter.pdf" target="_blank">View a letter from the Vice Mayor, Councilwoman Pastor and Councilwoman Guardado from February 26th requesting these investigations be made public. </a></b></p>
</html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| Vice Mayor Garcia Applauds the Decision by the Department of Justice to Investigate the Phoenix Police Department | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/2011 | | City Council District 8 | 8/5/2021 7:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2011/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | Vice Mayor Garcia Applauds the Decision by the Department of Justice to Investigate the Phoenix Police Department | <div class="ExternalClass94F85A2530F24A0790530022E18BECAA"><html>“The Department of Justice's announcement today that they will investigate the Phoenix Police Department is a clear message that this department is unfit to serve our community and further validates the violence and mistrust that our community has been experiencing. <br><br>Our office has been pushing for independent investigations of the police department since we have been here. I hope this is a clear message to some of my colleagues who've diminished this problem as we've called for accountability.<br><br>As the DOJ stated today, we cannot continue to use the police department to solve societal ills. The Council continues to disproportionately fund our police department more than other important services for our community. Again, I'm calling for us to invest in our community's healthcare, mental health, trauma care, childcare, affordable housing, employment opportunities, and other everyday essentials our community needs."<br></html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| Vice Mayor Garcia's Statement on Historic Office of Accountability and Transparency Vote | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/1916 | | City Council District 8 | 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/1916/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | Vice Mayor Garcia's Statement on Historic Office of Accountability and Transparency Vote | <div class="ExternalClass8CB7C834445A4E8D9F55F3CCC40FF038"><html>
<p></p>Vice Mayor Garcia led a historic vote to finally approve civilian oversight at the city of Phoenix today. With a 5-4 vote Phoenix finally joins hundreds of cities across the country in doing so. After many votes, the city finally has a full ordinance to establish the Office of Accountability and Transparency. The OAT will have the ability to have independent investigations and will create greater transparency for the Phoenix Police Department. <br><br>“The testimonies we heard today from families impacted by police violence is exactly why we need this office. I am grateful for the community members who have long advocated for this change at the city. I am also thankful to the Mayor and Councilwomen Ansari, Guardado and Pastor for voting for this. The work continues and I hope you will continue to engage our office and the city in the implementation of this office."<br><br><br><br></html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
| Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Next Steps for the Office of Accountability and Transparency | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/district-8/1909 | | City Council District 8 | 5/18/2021 6:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/1909/Newsroom_Council_Statement_08.jpg | | Vice Mayor Garcia’s Statement on Next Steps for the Office of Accountability and Transparency | <div class="ExternalClass295C6DB8230D4F00816C1970AE267E30"><html>
<span id="ms-rterangepaste-start"></span>The Office of Vice Mayor Garcia has submitted an updated ordinance for the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) for tomorrow's city council vote in response to community feedback and the political shift of the Phoenix City Council. <br><br>“This updated version of OAT answers the demand from communities who have fought for decades to push this policy forward. My colleagues on the city council acknowledge the need for oversight and the time is long-overdue to move on accountability and transparency for the Phoenix Police Department."<br><br><h3><a target="_blank" href="/district8site/Documents/OAT%20ORDINANCE%20G-6770.pdf"><span style="font-size:17.3333px;">Click to view the proposed ordinance</span></a><br></h3></html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/district8 | News | district-8 | District 8 | Carlos | Garcia |
