A Phoenix councilman who filed his campaign finance report late and took too much money from a group he wasn’t supposed to faces no penalties after reimbursing for the contributions.
Carlos Garcia, who represents south Phoenix and parts of downtown, ran afoul of campaign finance law by accepting nearly $28,000 in contributions in 2021 from the union representing food workers in Phoenix, UFCW Local 99. The donation violated state rules that say council members can accept no more than $6,550 from a single political action committee and the contribution has to be from a union’s PAC, not the union directly.
Gilbert Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera investigated the complaint against Garcia after Phoenix City Clerk Denise Archibald referred it to her, noting a potential conflict of interest.
A letter to Garcia’s attorneys in November said the complaint was being closed after Garcia corrected the violations. Garcia reimbursed the UFCW union $9,955 and the union’s PAC $10,000. The Arizona Republic obtained the letter in December after seeking an update on the complaint from the Gilbert Town Clerk’s Office.
“The complaint is being closed with no further action being taken or penalties imposed,” the letter says.
Garcia faced reelection in November and is headed to a runoff in March rafter failing to secure more than 50% of the votes against his three challengers. He will face Kesha Hodge Washington, who is endorsed by the mayor.
