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.