In 2022, something unusual happened in the City of South Tucson: three volunteers at a soup kitchen known for its left-wing political advocacy were elected to the city council.
They ran on an ambitious platform of fighting gentrification and housing the city’s poor. While some of it has come to pass, being inside the government has changed their perspectives and priorities.
As the end of their first terms on city council approaches, AZPM News looks back at their track record in the tiny city that Brian Flagg, a city council member and long-time local activist, calls a “one-square-mile place to experiment.”
Part II
When Valenzuela, Flagg and their ally Cesar Aguirre ran for city council, they called for rent control and building new affordable housing.
But their agenda took a different path, including through the historic Arizona Motel on South 6th Avenue. Fearing investors would flip it into a fancy development, Flagg contributed his inheritance of almost $1 million to purchase the motel for Casa Maria in 2023.
Then, Valenzuela moved in, hoping to reduce crime on the property.
According to police data, 911 calls from the property decreased modestly after Casa Maria bought it — from 172 in the two-year period before the purchase to 144 in the two years following it. One resident of the motel who requested to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation by management told AZPM that they’ve seen several crimes happen there.
But those numbers pale in comparison to police calls coming from two large apartment buildings in the city owned by Brian Bowers, described as a “slumlord” by Valenzuela: more than 1,700 between both buildings in 2023, according to a city lawsuit against Bowers.
The city sued Bowers in 2024 for allegedly causing a criminal nuisance with his buildings. He argued the lawsuit was part of a city effort to dispossess him of his property. But the two parties settled, with Bowers agreeing to several security upgrades.
“Being able to see the tools that government has to hold those who prey on our community accountable was very important,” Valenzuela said about the suit, which she called her first victory in office.
