Glendale City Council expels Conchas over SRP board position
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Former Glendale City Council member Lupe Conchas. Photo from City of Glendale
Lupe Conchas' new job on the Salt River Project power board cost him his old one on the Glendale City Council.
Why it matters: Removing a public official who was duly elected by voters is a drastic move.
Driving the news: The council voted 4-3 to expel Conchas at a special meeting Thursday citing a provision of the city charter that bars council members from holding other paid public offices.
- The SRP Agricultural Improvement and Power District Board, which Conchas was elected to last month as part of a clean energy slate, pays members $60 for each meeting they physically attend.
What we're watching: Conchas told Axios he'll seek an injunction against the expulsion vote.
- "We're going to … continue fighting for the Cactus District. We're going to find every way possible that we can hold the Glendale City Council accountable," he said.
The intrigue: Conchas told us he believes the expulsion was largely retaliation for opposing an administrative policy the city adopted in 2022 that gives members a $450 monthly vehicle allowance and a $900 monthly stipend for expenses, totaling about $16,200 annually.
- Conchas told Axios he stopped accepting the stipend and car allowance a few months into his term.
- He's called it a "slush fund,"
Zoom in: The Attorney General's Office is investigating the stipend and car allowance policy in response to a complaint filed last year arguing the policy violates the Arizona Constitution's "gift clause" and circumvents a provision of the city charter requiring a public vote to increase the mayor and council members' salaries.
- 73% of voters in 2019 rejected a large salary increase for the mayor and council members, who currently make $48,000 and $34,000, respectively.
What they're saying: "I know a lot of you are frustrated with me and are tired of me. But … that does not mean that we can expel me today," Conchas said during the meeting.
- He said he isn't taking any payments for his service on the SRP board and that he'd resign the position if the council didn't expel him.
- Councilmember Bart Turner, who voted against expulsion, said the per-meeting payments simply seemed like reimbursement for time and travel.
The other side: Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff said she had no ill will toward Conchas and her vote had nothing to do with retaliation or retribution but she had a duty to follow the law.
- "I feel the real victims here are the residents of Cactus District, who I'm sure did not expect to lose their councilmember by his own doing," said Councilmember Dianna Guzman.
- Guzman and Vice Mayor Ray Malnar cited outside legal advice the city received when they voted to expel Conchas.
Conchas told Axios that he did his "due diligence," speaking "with folks who I trusted who are associated with the city of Glendale" about the compensation issue before the SRP election.