Approximately 1/3 of Arizona voters are independent registered voters surpassing the Democratic vote.  As a result, we are signaling to Independent voters to throw their support behind the Reverend Warren Stewart.  Read below to find out why.

Greedy Gallegos Seek to Take Advantage of Redistricting That Dilutes African-American VotingPower

Above:  Kate Widland (Gallego) and Rep. Ruben Gallego — Photo cred: Gallego 4 Phoenix Campaign Site

Kate Widland Gallego is a woman running for office against Warren Stewart (with Stewart having a long standing relationship with the Mexican-American Community).  In fact, Stewart is co-President of the Black / Brown coalition founded alongside Mary Rose Wilcox who is a Maricopa County Supervisor.  Mary Rose Wilcox is a Mexican-American public official who has endorsed Warren Stewart.

Married for several years to Rep. Ruben Gallego, Kate did not use the Gallego name til recently.  One can verify this by checking the donations she made to Democratic candidates where you will find that she made contributions under the name of Kate Widland — not Gallego.  She began using “Gallego” around January of 2013 and it appears this is another example of a political opportunist who is presenting herself as a great white hope to the minority community while utilizing a “Spanish” last name.

She worked as an SRP lobbyist that really is not in the business of economically developing the poor areas of town.   In fact, SRP’s prepaid electricity plan was found to have higher rates thus negatively impacting the poor.

We already have one “Gallego” in office via Representative Ruben Gallego — so why do we need two in office?

Is Kate Widland Gallego thinking that District 8 is low hanging fruit to embark on a lengthy political career?  The real work that needs to be done is in the south Pheonix portion of District 8, and the challenging issues she will face via the economy and education are centered in the highly minority populated communities in south Phoenix.  Kate Widland Gallego is a condo resident of a very different part in District 8 which is the northern tip of the district (they own multiple properties).    She is a Harvard grad who wants to become a leader in an area that is primarily black and brown, and she lacks a strong grassroots background within the south Phoenix area.

According to Kate’s political website, she bills herself as:

“….. the only candidate who has held leadership positions at the City of Phoenix…”

But where was Kate’s leadership when it is a widely known fact that the Phoenix police department is the arresting agency behind more deportations than Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s MCSO?  Kate Widland was silent on the operations order that Stewart Warren spoke out against where the operations order would have empowered Phoenix PD to essentially become immigration officers.

It is unfortunate the new redistricting lines in Phoenix has diluted the African-American voting power.   As a Mexican-American registered voter, I certainly take issue with redistricting agendas that dilute the Mexican-American / Latino voting power, too, and encourage redistricting litigation to preserve and advance electoral strength for minorities.

In addition to numerous things Warren Stewart stood for, he also fought for the Martin Luther King Jr., holiday in Arizona, and he currently sits on the board of the National Immigration Reform organization.

Sorry, Kate Widland, but I’m going to have to support Warren Stewart for City Council.