‘We have the power’: Arizona People's Convention champions civic responsibility beyond Election Day

Community members from across the state gathered in downtown Phoenix on Saturday for the Arizona Peoples Convention, an event promoting civic awareness and engagement.

Activate 48, a coalition that includes Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), Chispa Arizona, and Our Voice Our Vote (OVOV), hosted the event, bringing community leaders, elected officials and everyday Arizonans together in the downtown Sheraton hotel. While organizers discussed midterm issues at length, they also made it clear that their plans extend well past the upcoming election.

Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA and Arizona Center for Empowerment (ACE), told CALÓ News that many Arizonans are “fed up” with politicians failing to deliver on key issues impacting them and their families.

“Our communities have been saying that our life is actually unaffordable right now,” Gomez said. “We have the power to do something about that. The first stop is to vote. The second stop is to show up in January when we flip the legislature.”

Shannon Hayes, a member of OVOV and a speaker at the convention, also emphasized the importance of civic efforts past the November election.

“Even when the election has ended, we still have things to do,” Hayes said in an interview with CALÓ News. “We've got a lot of work to do, which also consists of the next upcoming census. Make sure that you are counted. Make sure that your voice is heard.”

Before speakers took the stage, a marching band and an intertribal drumming group performed, introducing the event to an audience that reached several hundred attendees at its peak.

The People’s Agenda

A key discussion point throughout the convention was the announcement of the People’s Agenda, a governing agenda from the Activate 48 coalition that is focused on making healthcare, housing and education more affordable and accessible to all Arizonans.

Former State Rep. Reginald Bolding, coalition director for Activate 48, told CALÓ News that the People’s Agenda is the result of a year and a half of barrio dinners, leadership trainings and other community events centered around understanding Arizonan needs.

“We're not asking our members if they're Republican or Democrat. We're asking, what do they want Arizona to feel like and look like?” Bolding said. “They're saying they want affordable housing. They’re saying they want data centers and AI corporations to pay their fair share. They're saying that they want family medical leave. They’re saying they want universal childcare.”

JaNaé Bates, co-executive director of Faith in Minnesota and another speaker at the convention, said in her speech that a similar agenda helped Minnesota organizers win healthcare and clean energy in the state legislature.

Affordability

Community speakers, including a union member from Unite Here Local 11 and two Arizona high school students, described their and their families' struggles to pay rent, utilities, gas and healthcare costs. While some received programs like rent assistance, others, like Hayes, were denied.

“Realize that housing stability doesn't always look like someone sleeping on a sidewalk — sometimes it looks like the person sitting next to you, sometimes it looks like the woman standing here before you,” Hayes said at the event. “That's why I continue to show up.”

According to convention organizers like Gomez, a key part of solving these issues is increasing the taxes paid by the richest Americans so they contribute their “fair share,” thereby expanding the capacity of government assistance programs.

Immigration enforcement misconduct

During the convention, U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari called for holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountable for misconduct under the Trump administration. According to Ansari, this wave of accountability would affect not only ICE leadership, but also private prison companies operating detention centers and individual officers who have contributed to harm.

“The Trump corruption and authoritarianism has played out in so many horrific ways, but the worst of it has been the way that they have turned ICE into a personal paramilitary force, turned [them] against the population of the United States,” Ansari said. “[They’re] gunning down people on the streets in broad daylight, separating families and locking people up into disgusting detention centers that millions of our taxpayer dollars are going to.”

Ansari also described the oversight visit she performed with other legislators on Wednesday at the Eloy detention center, specifically the state of a pregnant woman named Maria who was in “severe danger” due to inadequate healthcare. Ansari called for Maria’s immediate release from Eloy. Later at the convention, U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva echoed this demand.

Election rights and protections

After a break, ten breakout sessions covered topics ranging from housing affordability and election rights to community empowerment through art and faith.

During the session on election rights and protections, Karime Rodríguez, an organizer with LUCHA, presented a voter-rights guide and training for individuals looking to serve as nonpartisan poll watchers. If Arizonans notice any violations at a polling location, they were encouraged to call the Election Protection hotline, which is open daily from now until Election Day.

Organizations like LUCHA plan to station poll watchers across the Valley who can help voters navigate the process and know their rights while in person.

‘We have a responsibility to listen’

Attendees gathered after the breakout sessions to hear from the convention’s final speaker, Grijalva. Like others at the convention, she spoke about rising healthcare and housing costs and the need to hold ICE accountable at both the systemic and individual levels.

“To the elected officials [and] candidates here today, including myself: We have a responsibility to listen, not just when we need something, not just when the cameras are there and certainly not just during an election season,” Grijalva said.

Organizers from Activate 48 invited attendees to conclude the event with a march to the nearest polling location, where several organizers turned in their ballots in person. Indigenous dancers and a mariachi performed along the route.

Voters should mail early ballots by Oct. 27 to be counted by Election Day, but they can also turn them in directly at polling places on or before Nov. 3. Ballot tracking is available at my.arizona.vote.

River Graziano is a freelance journalist for CALÓ News. They grew up in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix and later attended ASU in Tempe, where they spent two years as an editor at The State Press. Their reporting with CALÓ News covers advocacy efforts impacting Latine communities across the Valley.