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The Mesa City Council could face recall elections, boycotts and lawsuits if it doesn't make changes to reflect its increasing diversity, a new coalition of residents said Monday.
The 34-person Multicultural Coalition for Economic and Social Justice seeks three to four months of negotiations with the council on issues its members feel haven't been adequately addressed, such as a day labor center, a police oversight board, a paid Cesar Chavez holiday and more minorities in upper management.
Phil Austin, a coalition member and president of the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens, said the coalition is trying to get onto the council's Thursday morning study session, which woul
likely launch the negotiation period. If the group is not satisfied by the progress at the end of this period, it would turn to recall efforts, boycotts and if necessary, litigation, Austin said.
The coalition was formed out
of frustration, Austin said. The council has avoided tough issues that affect the city's increasingly diverse community, he said. It appoints task forces but doesn't implement their proposals. "They've made recommendation upon recommendation, and they have not been followed," he said.
A council vote on another task force, the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Police Oversight, could come soon. The committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a final recommendation: That the council have a citizen board review every incident in which a suspect is killed or seriously injured by officers. The push for public oversight of Mesa police was renewed in August after Mario Madrigal Jr., 15, was fatally shot by officers who said he came toward them with a knife.
Mayor Keno Hawker had a one-page statement distributed Monday, which concluded: "I encourage all of the members of the coalition to continue to take an active role in city government, and to ma
ke t
heir concerns known. Ultimately, though, I represent al
l Mesa residents, not just the select interests of one group."
The coalition was formed by the Hispanic citizens group, but crosses ethnic and religious lines to include leaders such as Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, Michael Campbell of the city's Martin Luther King holiday committee, former Mayor Wayne Brown and former council members Pat Gilbert and Jim Davidson.
Councilwoman Janie Thom, who represents southeast Mesa, said that the coalition's issues have been brought to her attention by people who take the opposite position from the coalition's. Other issues haven't come up at all, she said. "Who's Cesar Chavez?" she asked. Later, she said she thought she had heard of the union organizer and civil rights leader who die
d in 1993. Chavez is honored by Phoenix and Tempe with a paid holiday, and by Mesa with an annual festival.
http:/
/www.azt
rib.com/index.php?sty=22762
The Mesa City Council could face recall elections, boycotts and lawsuits if it doesn't make changes to reflect its increasing diversity, a new coalition of residents said Monday.
The 34-person Multicultural Coalition for Economic and Social Justice seeks three to four months of negotiations with the council on issues its members feel haven't been adequately addressed, such as a day labor center, a police oversight board, a paid Cesar Chavez holiday and more minorities in upper management.
Phil Austin, a coalition member and president of the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens, said the coalition is trying to get onto the council's Thursday morning study session, which woul
likely launch the negotiation period. If the group is not satisfied by the progress at the end of this period, it would turn to recall efforts, boycotts and if necessary, litigation, Austin said.
The coalition was formed out
of frustration, Austin said. The council has avoided tough issues that affect the city's increasingly diverse community, he said. It appoints task forces but doesn't implement their proposals. "They've made recommendation upon recommendation, and they have not been followed," he said.
A council vote on another task force, the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Police Oversight, could come soon. The committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a final recommendation: That the council have a citizen board review every incident in which a suspect is killed or seriously injured by officers. The push for public oversight of Mesa police was renewed in August after Mario Madrigal Jr., 15, was fatally shot by officers who said he came toward them with a knife.
Mayor Keno Hawker had a one-page statement distributed Monday, which concluded: "I encourage all of the members of the coalition to continue to take an active role in city government, and to ma
ke t
heir concerns known. Ultimately, though, I represent al
l Mesa residents, not just the select interests of one group."
The coalition was formed by the Hispanic citizens group, but crosses ethnic and religious lines to include leaders such as Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, Michael Campbell of the city's Martin Luther King holiday committee, former Mayor Wayne Brown and former council members Pat Gilbert and Jim Davidson.
Councilwoman Janie Thom, who represents southeast Mesa, said that the coalition's issues have been brought to her attention by people who take the opposite position from the coalition's. Other issues haven't come up at all, she said. "Who's Cesar Chavez?" she asked. Later, she said she thought she had heard of the union organizer and civil rights leader who die
d in 1993. Chavez is honored by Phoenix and Tempe with a paid holiday, and by Mesa with an annual festival.
http:/
/www.azt
rib.com/index.php?sty=22762