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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

May 26

13

Conchas is now serving two masters

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 13, 2026
Posted in Cactus District • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On Monday May 4, 2026, Glendale Councilmember Lupe Conchas took the oath of office as a Boardmember for District 4 of The Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District.

He is in violation of the Glendale City Charter, Article II, Section 5, Qualifications.

“The mayor shall be at least twenty-five (25) years of age on the date of his election or appointment; the mayor and council members shall be qualified electors of the city at the  time of election; shall hold no other public office for which they receive compensation except that of a notary public or member of the national guard or naval of military reserve; and shall have resided in said city for one (1) year next preceding the date of such election or appointment. If the mayor or any councilman shall cease to possess any of these qualifications or shall be convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, his office shall immediately become vacant.”

Lupe Conchas is now holding a second public office for which he receives compensation requiring his seat to be vacated immediately.

Legally, compensation is commonly associated with Workman’s Compensation. However, there is a second legal definition, “Compensation refers to all forms of payment or benefits that an employee receives for their work. This includes not only wages and salaries but also bonuses, health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks provided by the employer.”

In addition to receiving payment every time Conchas attends a meeting, he also receives insurance, which legally is compensation as stated in the Glendale City Charter.

He is in violation of the Glendale City Charter and should have been already removed.

We know there was an executive session council meeting on Friday, May 1st. It was not a public meeting and all discussions are confidential. I think we can assume it was a discussion involving Conchas.

I am aware that Conchas has legal representation and that a letter from his legal counsel was sent to the mayor and all councilmembers. I had submitted a Public Information Request for that letter and today I received the letter in question.

His attorney, Sambo Dui of Coppersmith Brockleman, PLC., contends that Conchas is not receiving compensation from Salt River Project and therefore is not in violation of our city charter. The very fact that Salt River Project publicly states that the office holder receives compensation per meeting plus health coverage was known to Conchas. His attorney made a lot of assertions that frankly have to be adjudicated in a court of law.

Remember legally, compensation is defined as payments or benefits. Conchas is receiving $60 for each meeting attended as well as the benefit of insurance coverage.

It appears that his attorney’s assertions are flawed. Conchas legally still receives his salary. His attorney leaves the legal door open with regard to defining ‘compensation’ by opining, “even assuming the City Charter’s reference to ‘compensation’ is broader than ‘salary,…”

His attorney states that Conchas will waive his salary. Whether Conchas accepts it or not is a moot point. Legally, this public office offers compensation, no matter who has the office. It is the fact that Conchas ran knowing this was a public office that was compensated. His intent was clear.

Now that he has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he thinks he can make it go away by saying he won’t take the money, but he continues to receive insurance coverage, which is also legal compensation.

It seems that a lot of pressure had been placed on Conchas to stay on the SRP board by radical democrats whose aim was to gain control of SRP. Now that the radical Democrats are the majority on this board expect to see rate increases as they push their “Green Agenda.” No wonder they want to keep Conchas on at all costs. It appears that they will cover any legal fees he may have.

In addition to receiving two salaries, there is also the question of a conflict of interest. The city does a lot of business with SRP. Having a sitting city councilmember on their board could affect that relationship.

What has been our city attorney’s or council’s response to date? Crickets…nada…nothing. It seems that our council is in dereliction of their duty to uphold Glendale’s city charter. It seems we have an ineffectual city council in fear of removing Conchas without getting some kind of legal cover to do so.

If I were still a sitting councilmember I would have already called for a public vote to remove Conchas. Let each councilmember go on record with regard to upholding our city charter. If Conchas were to sue the city it would require a court of law to settle the issue. It would be expensive for Conchas to sue but have no fear. I suspect that Worker Power would foot the bill.

It time Glendale citizens asked their councilmembers to act. If you would like to send any or all an email expressing your opinion, here are their email addresses:

Why is Lupe Conchas still serving as a Glendale city councilmember?

© Joyce Clark, 2026   

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 26

27

Glendale councilmember Lupe Conchas…A whole lot of foot dragging going on

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 27, 2026
Posted in Cactus District • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

It seems that Glendale councilmember Lupe Conchas is in violation of the Glendale City Charter and Arizona Revised Statute 38-296.

He filed for nomination to the Salt River District Board of Directors (District 4) on or prior to Friday, February 6, 2026 (deadline for filing), in the second year of his term (not the last year of his term as councilmember as required by Arizona law). He had 10 days to resign as councilmember and if he failed to do so, he lost his council seat within 10 days automatically. He allegedly has violated Arizona’s Resign-to-Run law.

He is also allegedly in violation of Glendale’s City Charter by running for a public office that receives compensation. According to the city charter, his office shall immediately become vacant.

So, why is he still on Glendale City Council? Why hasn’t the council immediately removed him from office? Why is the city still paying him a salary paid for by your tax dollars? Foot dragging?

It’s time for a deeper dive into this whole mess.

Jose “Lupe” Conchas, Jr., ran as a candidate for “Boardmember for District 4 of The Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District.” Note that he ran for the Agricultural Improvement and Power District, not the Water District. This is important because the Agricultural Improvement district is a public entity and the Water District is not.

SRP is a governmental-owned or public body under Arizona Law, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (the “District”): This is the electricity provider and is formally a political subdivision of the State of Arizona (an agricultural improvement district formed in 1937). As a government-owned corporation or public body under Arizona law:

  • It can issue tax-exempt municipal bonds
  • Its board is elected (by landowners in the service area, with voting often tied to land ownership
  • It is generally not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission for rates and investments in the same way as private utilities. The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) does not regulate Salt River Project (SRP) for rates, rules, service standards, or day-to-day operations because SRP is structured as a political subdivision of the State of Arizona, not a private or investor-owned “public service corporation” under the ACC’s jurisdiction.
  • It is subject to Arizona’s Public Records Law as a public body and is often described as a public power utility or governmental entity

A lawsuit was filed on April 17, 2026, requesting an expedited hearing to occur on or before April 28, 2026. Ten days later, April 27, 2026, and no court date has been assigned. Foot dragging??

Gabrielle E. Schifferer, Trustee of the Jelle Trust,

A Qualified Elector and Landowner in the Salt River Project Agricultural

Improvement and Power District,

Plaintiff/Contestant,

Vs.

Jose “Lupe” Conchas, Ir., District 4 Boardmember-elect for District 4 of

The Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District,

and John M. Feley, in his official capacity as Corporate Secretary of The Salt River Project

Agricultural Improvement and Power District,

Defendants/Contestee( s ).

Case No.: CV 2026-01 6 0 4 0

Why is Conchas still on Glendale’s city council?

Lots of scuttlebutt swirling. One is the mayor and several councilmembers are waiting for the result of the aforementioned lawsuit. To provide cover for any action? The city charter is clear. The minute Conchas was elected to another public body with compensation on April 7, 2026, according to the city charter he is removed immediately. Not taking any action to date could be publicly perceived as dereliction of duty. Dereliction of duty is defined as “a person’s purposeful or accidental failure to perform an obligation without a valid excuse, especially an obligation attached to their job.” This is considered to be crime.

Another piece of scuttlebutt is that Conchas may resign his position with SRP. I suppose he thinks this will save his councilmember seat. That does not appear to be a correct interpretation.  It appears the very minute he was elected to the SRP board he was in violation of the city charter. That seems to be when he violated the city charter and resigning after the fact will not save him. Conchas may also have to face another charge, that of unjust enrichment by holding two publicly compensated offices.

Yet another scuttlebutt is that the mayor and vice mayor will be meeting with Conchas this week to tell him to resign or he will be voted out of office by city council.

Lastly, what have been the actions or inactions of our City Attorney, Michael Bailey? He is the council’s and city’s attorney. He knows the law. There is a body of law that confirms that SRP’s agricultural district is a public body. What did he advise this council to do? And when?

It’s way past time for Lupe Conchas to vacate his seat as the Glendale councilmember representing the Cactus district.

© Joyce Clark, 2026   

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jan 25

14

Lupe Conchas…renegade or representative?

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 14, 2025
Posted in Cactus District • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

About a month ago, on Tuesday, December 11, 2024, Glendale held its Installation Ceremony for re-elected Mayor Jerry Weiers, re-elected Councilmember Ray Malnar and Councilmembers-Elect Dianna Guzman and Lupe Conchas. Malnar, Guzman and Conchas were asked to keep their remarks brief, to three or four minutes. Malnar and Guzman did so but not Conchas. It appeared that he deliberately chose to ignore that request and he rambled on and on and on for at least ten minutes. It appeared to be no more than a campaign speech.

Conchas’ speech is too long for inclusion, but I did note some rather interesting remarks (his in italics and mine in parentheses and bold) that I bring to your attention.

He said, “I started my career as a community organizer.”

(He still is. He is Regional Organizing Manager for ONE Campaign based in Washington, D.C. Was Regional Organizer for Bread for the World, Washington, D.C. from 2019-2023.)

Then he remarked, “The unions who (unintelligible), to Worker Power, to Unite Here, to the teacher’s union, to the iron workers, to IBEW, to UFCW, to SMART, and to America Labor Federation, your belief in me kept me going and you stood by me every step of the way. And I will not forget that.”

 (These unions endorsed him:

UNITE HERE Local 11

Worker Power

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union

United Food and Commercial Workers Union

International Painters and Allied Trades Union

Ironworkers Union Local 75

He publicly declared that he will support their agendas. That includes Worker Power which has mounted several lawsuits and initiatives against the city and VIA Resort. I smell a conflict of interest.)

He went on to say, “I’ve spoken to the City Manager here tonight. I’m excited to announce now that the City of Glendale has secured a $6.7 million-dollar federal grant for pedestrian safety improvements here in Glendale… This grant is a testament to what happens when we listen to our community, and we fight for change…”

(There is not even one, tiny Conchas fingerprint on the securing of this grant. The application was submitted months ago, long before he became Councilmember-Elect. He did not fight for change as he implies.)

He also said, “…a motivating factor in my decision was the quality of our early childhood education programs and my goal to increase literacy in our community. By investing in Pre-K and after school programs…”

(Glendale’s public policy mandate does not include education. That is the responsibility of our multiple school district’s Boards of Education. Glendale city council has no say and does not fund the education of your children. That is done through your property taxes and the line item tax allocations to various educational districts.)

Then he said, “I admire the bravery of our police officers who are standing in the back. A big round of applause for our fire and police officers.”

(This is the same guy who demonstrated against ICE in 2019. His position is one of distrust of and disrespect for law enforcement.)

Lastly, he remarked, “Now, some of you may know that Proposition 314 has been approved by the voters. It’s a new immigration enforcement bill… And let me be 100% clear, my focus is on preserving the civil rights of our residents…”

(He is a participating member of Promise Arizona, which advocates for Democrat party immigration reform. You can assume that he will work to preserve the status of the illegal immigrants who have flooded this country.)

Keep this fact in mind. Lupe Conchas won the election by 69 votes. That is not an overwhelming mandate by the voters in the Cactus district. He did what any good organizer does. He went to apartment complexes and trailer parks to register folks who had never voted and then made sure they did vote…for him. Even using that tactic, he still won by only 69 votes.

Did you know that he moved to Glendale in 2017 to the Ocotillo district?  At that time Jamie Aldama was its Councilmember. I think it’s fair to assume that he knew he couldn’t beat Aldama, and little did he know that Aldama would resign his seat to run for Mayor in mid-2024. In 2023, he moved to the Cactus district with the idea that he might have a better chance of knocking out incumbent Vice Mayor Ian Hugh and it worked.

If you go to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund website, you will discover that Conchas publicly acknowledges that he is a cisgender male and gay. I don’t care one way or another, but I bet there are many Hispanic voters who are faithful Catholics. Conchas’ lifestyle is a slap in the face of one of their staunchest beliefs. He acknowledges that organization’s endorsement as simply the Victory Fund, not the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. How many votes would he have garnered from the Hispanic community if they had known this fact?

Many view him as a one-term councilmember. They think he is merely using this council seat as a steppingstone and that his next move will be to run for the Arizona state legislature and eventually on to a congressional seat.

How he performs on Glendale’s city council will determine his future political aspirations. Will he support a majority of this council’s agenda which becomes city policy, or will he assume his traditional role as an activist and disruptor?

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.