The Glendale Fraternal Order of Police are urging residents to reject one Democratic city council candidate due to his lengthy past advocating against police, as well as current standards for law and order.
The Glendale Fraternal Order of Police has come out against Jose (Lupe) Conchas, the Cactus District candidate and vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party.
In a letter to the editor in The Glendale Star last week, Glendale Fraternal Order of Police President David Goitia said that Conchas’ past activism and platform for a past campaign confirmed Conchas’ negative sentiment toward police.
“Put simply, Lupe Conchas, running for Glendale council in the city’s Cactus District, would be a disaster for public safety in our city,” wrote Goitia. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about politicians, it’s that the best predictor of future behavior isn’t their promises — it’s their past behavior.”
Back in 2019, Conchas was arrested for unlawful assembly and obstructing a public thoroughfare during a protest with the Party for Socialism and Labor outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.
Conchas’ activism against immigration law came about following his experience with his father’s lawbreaking. Conchas’ father was an illegal immigrant who was deported back to Mexico when Conchas was 16. In a 2021 interview, Conchas credited his father’s deportation to his decision to become a social justice activist, starting with Black Lives Matter protests at the University of Arizona following the death of Eric Garner about 10 years ago.
“I lost my dad due to deportation, at least you know my dad is still here on earth but [Eric Garner’s daughter] her father is gone, taken by the system, and so that’s what really prompted me to join my black brothers and sisters in the Black Lives Matter movement to protest in the streets,” said Conchas.
Conchas has also campaigned to implement the latest in progressive public safety policies, such as “safe” injection sites for drug users.
In his campaign for Alhambra Elementary School District Governing Board — which he now presides over — Conchas prioritized protecting Black, Indigenous, and other students of color from police violence.
Although Glendale’s police union has come out against Conchas, he was endorsed by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.
Concerning other social issues, Conchas campaigned on mandatory affordable housing for new developments, DEI-informed economic planning, electrification of transportation, multimodal roadways, and increased water restrictions for residents and more tree planting.
As a top Democrat, Conchas has been highly critical of former President and presidential candidate Donald Trump. In a 2019 speech, Conchas referred to Trump’s illegal immigrant detention centers as “concentration camps” and accused the former president of “committing genocide.”
A significant portion of Conchas’ funds raised came from UFCW Local 99 PAC and Maricopa County Young Democrats, per his recent campaign finance reports.
His most recent activism has included a role as regional organizing manager for The ONE Campaign, a multimillion-dollar D.C. nonprofit advocating for anti-poverty policies abroad, particularly in Africa. Among top donors are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Sheryl Sandberg & Tom Bernthal.
🚨🚨Help Us Warn Folks
Community organizer Jose Lupe Conchas, running for Glendale City Council – Cactus District, claims to support public safety.
In 2020 he said students needed protection from “police violence.”
Way too radical for Glendale.@ReverendMaupin @BroomheadShow… pic.twitter.com/JOn0L4hT6W
— Glendale Arizona FOP Lodge 12 (@GlendaleFOP12) July 6, 2024
As an LGBTQ+ activist, Conchas has advocated for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) due to his having contracted HIV after he stopped taking Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an HIV preventative medication. Under PEPFAR, first launched by President Georgia Bush in 2003, the US has invested over $100 billion in global HIV/AIDS response.
