MARCH 16, 2023

South Phoenix, AZ — On March 14, 2023, Phoenix’s eighth district officially elected Kesha Hodge Washington as councilmember after a run-off election.

Mass Liberation Arizona issued the following statement in response:

It’s clear the majority of District 8 voters are looking to Kesha Hodge Washington to bring change to the district, but Washington has already made clear she plans to continue the legacy of her predecessors by alienating and ignoring the needs of Black people in South Phoenix who are most impacted by state violence. We know this because Kesha Hodge Washington’s campaign was backed by anti-Black institutions, like the police union, PLEA, which continues to co-sign police brutalization of the residents of South Phoenix, putting profit and property interests above the wellbeing and safety of District 8. In the two weeks leading up to the run-off election, Phoenix Police shot six people, killing five of their victims, yet Washington has proudly aligned herself with the very police force that has inflicted immeasurable violence against the neighborhoods she was elected to represent.

District 8, and South Phoenix as a whole, has a long history of inept elected officials. In 2013, Kate Gallego won the District 8 seat, but failed the Black community miserably — in the same ways she fails us now as mayor. She promised progress and racial equity, but instead, she used her District 8 seat as an opportunistic stepping stone for her political career, neglecting her duty to our community. In 2019, Carlos Garcia followed Gallego’s footsteps by demonstrating indifference and inaction as South Phoenix faced the brunt of the current housing crisis, overwhelming police violence, environmental racism, and displacement.

As councilmember-elect, Kesha Hodge Washington must answer to our community: Will she represent the interests of Black community members who have endured violent erasure and the failures of her predecessors? Or will she allow herself to continue to be tokenized by the same racist institutions and politicians who supported her campaign? No matter which answer she chooses, we, the community, will hold Washington accountable to our demands for #CareNotCops.