Message from Vice Mayor Ann O'Brien
This past week has been a mix of local milestones and important national conversations—and I wanted to share a few highlights with you.
First up, on Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure of joining the mayor and my council colleagues at the ceremonial groundbreaking for Innovation 27. If that name doesn’t ring a bell yet, you might know it as the old Kmart site on the northwest corner of I-17 and Northern Avenue. For years, that building sat empty—just a reminder of what once was. But now, it’s being reimagined into something that looks squarely toward the future.
Innovation 27 will become a workforce training and education collaborative, designed to expand career opportunities for our residents and help build a stronger, more resilient employee pipeline across the region. This project has been a long time coming, with years of collaboration between city staff, neighborhood leaders, architects, contractors, and an incredible group of education partners including Washington Elementary School District, Maricopa County Community Colleges, ASU, and NAU. If all goes to plan, Innovation 27 will open its doors in summer 2026—and I can’t wait to see the impact it makes.
Shortly after the groundbreaking, I headed straight to the airport for a quick trip to DC to speak with the White House and a couple of key individuals related to many issues back home in Phoenix. The main part of my trip included a meeting at the White House. I sat down with Christine Glassner, the Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, to talk candidly about the ongoing federal cuts to critical city programs. I emphasized just how vital these dollars are to the infrastructure, education, and housing programs that keep our cities running. These aren’t handouts or entitlements—they're strategic federal investments in the everyday lives of federal taxpayers.
We also discussed the DOJ’s ongoing investigation into the City of Phoenix. We’re now approaching four years since this began, and nearly a year since findings were released—yet we’ve seen no action, no closure. That kind of uncertainty doesn’t help anyone. The truth is, Phoenix has already been hard at work making real changes to how we police and how we engage with our residents. We have implemented new trainings, received awards for the inclusions of new technology in the way we communicate with our residents, and created entirely new teams and programs to help respond to incidents where maybe a uniformed officer isn’t the best person to respond and handle a situation. It’s time the DOJ acknowledges that progress and puts a period at the end of this sentence. We need the DOJ to acknowledge the positive steps city leadership is taking in making proactive and meaningful changes to the way Phoenix polices.
An additional topic we discussed was the tariffs and how they’re harming small businesses here at home. While major corporations like Walmart and Target may be able to spread the cost of rising inflation and tariff costs amongst the bulk of their goods, our small businesses are seriously hurting. The backbone of the American economy is the small business and this administration needs to hear that. Even though this issue tends to fall outside the purview of the City’s abilities, so long as I have a line directly into the White House, I’m committed to acting as your conduit and connecting your real concerns directly to the Administration. As Vice Mayor of Phoenix, I serve as the highest-ranking Republican in the top 8 cities in the Country, and I plan to use my voice for you.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and don’t forget to call your mom’s!
Thank you,
Ann O'Brien
Vice Mayor of Phoenix
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Mark Your Calendars: Community Meeting
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 27th, at the Mel Martin's Auto Museum located at 4320 W Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85306. Plan for check-in to begin at 5:30pm and the meeting to start at 6:00pm.
You can register below for the upcoming meeting! As a reminder, please fill out the form SEPARATELY for EACH member of your family planning to attend. Thank you!
News From the City of Phoenix
Black Mountain Coffee With a Cop
 Please join your Black Mountain Precinct Commander Siekmann along with officers who serve for Coffee with a Cop at Biscuits Cafe at 310 E Bell on February 27th at 8:30am. This is a great opportunity to come out and meet the members of our police department that make up the Black Mountain Precinct.
Cactus Park Crime Update
The officers of the Cactus Park Precinct actively work to address criminal activity in our community, and we like to highlight a small fraction of this work with you, our community and business leaders. Regularly, the showcased examples start from a call for service from an engaged community member like you.
In an Emergency or to report suspicious activity 911 | To report a crime or non-emergency 602-262-6151 option #4 | Silent Witness 480-WITNESS
Here’s the latest update from Cactus Park Precinct:
On April 10, 2025, officers responded to a robbery attempt at a fast food location near Thunderbird Road and 35th Avenue where the suspect attempted to rob the drive-thru window before fleeing the area in a vehicle. With limited vehicle information Cactus Park Precinct’s Real-Time Operations Center specialists located the suspect vehicle and identified a possible suspect. This information was relayed to investigators which resulted in the apprehension of the suspect by specialized tactical enforcement officers. The incredible investigative work by our Real-Time Operations Center personnel and responding officers resulted in the expeditious apprehension of the suspect. Bravo!
April 19th marked the end of Cactus Park Precinct’s four-week crime suppression plan. This enforcement plan focused on specific portions of our precinct which culminated in a community clean-up at the end of each week. We would like to thank our Neighborhood Enforcement and Community Action Teams as well as the Drug Enforcement Bureau, Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit, Transit Unit, Motor Unit, and Adult Probation for their commitment to community safety which resulted in the following:
- 211 Total Arrests
- 131 Misdemeanor
- 80 Felony
- 239 Traffic Stops
- 210 Citations
- 29 Educational Contacts
- 18 Vehicle tows
In combination with our enforcement efforts, Cactus Park Precinct would like to thank the Neighborhood Services Department, Grand Canyon University, Calvary Church, and all our community groups and community members who assisted in the neighborhood clean-ups. These clean-ups cleared 6+ tons of trash/debris from our community. Great work everyone!
On April 20th, 2025, an aggravated assault occurred in the area of 10000 North Metro Parkway East where the suspect pointed a firearm at the victim. Responding officers located the victim and were provided a direction of travel for the suspect. Cactus Park Precinct’s Real-Time Operations Center personnel, using field technology, located a possible suspect and guided officers to this location. Upon seeing the officers arriving at his location the suspect fled on foot and was pursued. As the suspect was rapidly approaching the light rail platform, officers used a less lethal compliance tool to thwart his advancement and allow officers to safely apprehend him. Great work by our Cactus Park Precinct officers and Real-Time Operations Center specialists!
City Unveils New Parking App: ParkPHX
 The City of Phoenix recently launched ParkPHX, a web-based application dedicated to making finding parking downtown easier than ever. ParkPHX is designed to provide easy access to information on all public parking facilities in one convenient location—helping users find parking based on what matters most to them, from cost to electric vehicle charging stations. Along with information on each public parking facility, such as ADA access, EV inventory, and height limits, ParkPHX will also provide integrated parking reservations and dynamic pricing for participating partner facilities. The web-based application is intended to allow all demographics to easily access the tool. Reserve your parking ahead of time the next time you visit downtown at parkphx.com!
City Launches Community Survey
 The City of Phoenix is ready to launch the community survey. This survey asks questions on a wide range of topics around life in our community, from what residents think is working, to where they see a need for improvement, providing feedback that is used to calculate ongoing satisfaction scores. The survey is one more way to gather information from residents in our effort to more holistically understand neighborhood issues and enhance our responsiveness to community priorities.
The survey takes less than five minutes to complete and is available in both English and Spanish. The survey system sets response targets based on Census data to ensure community representation. Survey responses will be anonymous.
The survey is served up to residents on various websites and social media platforms. Residents can also respond to the survey directly with this link.
We’ve also created a survey landing page on Phoenix.gov to answer questions, including the security and privacy of the survey.
News From Deer Valley Unified School District
Back Soon with More Exciting News!
News From Washington Elementary School District
Get Your Career Started in WESD!
 Please join us for our Job Fair on Wednesday, May 14, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the WESD Administrative Center, located at 4650 W. Sweetwater Ave. We are currently hiring a variety of teaching positions and a wide range of support staff jobs in our Head Start, Kidspace (before and after-school care), Maintenance and Transportation Departments, as well as, instructional assistants!
Our District offers competitive teacher salaries of $53,000-$84,950 with performance pay, student loan forgiveness, school-age child care discounts, medical, dental and vision benefits, employer-matched contributions to Arizona State Retirement and much more. The WESD also provides the most support for teachers, including instructional coaches on every campus, weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLC), regular professional development and social workers on each campus.
Walk-ins are welcome! For questions, please call 602-347-2622. To review our current job openings and apply online, please visit jobs.wesdschools.org/
WESD Celebrates Groundbreaking of Innovation 27
 The WESD was proud take part in special celebration May 7 – the groundbreaking for the new Innovation 27 Workforce Training and Education Collaborative that is being built at the site of the former K-mart on I-17 and Northern, directly behind Washington Elementary. Superintendent Dr. Paul Stanton was one of 10 speakers who shared remarks at the event, including Mayor Kate Gallego, Councilwoman Betty Guardado and City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Director Christine Mackay. Dr. Stanton shared his hopes for the project, one that would create opportunities for students and their families to expand their skills so they can live, work and play right here in WESD. Joining Dr. Stanton were Governing Board President Kyle Clayton and Governing Board member Bill Adams, as well as current Washington Principal Amber Boyer-Landis and incoming Washington Principal Andrea Maroney.
WESD has been involved in the project since the beginning, collaborating with city and neighborhood leaders to redevelop the vacant big box store to a space that brings educational partners, city and community resources together to uplift and enhance the neighborhood and its residents. Educational partners include ASU, NAU, Maricopa County Community Colleges and the West-MEC high school district. The WESD is proud to be involved and can’t wait for the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it opens!
Sahuaro Principal Wins Special Honor from School Connect
 A special congratulations to Crystal Bustamante, principal at Sahuaro Elementary, who was named the winner of the Catalyst for Education Award at School Connect’s Champions of Education Awards! Nominated by Dawn Payne, Calvary PHX preschool director, Crystal received the special award for sparking collaboration toward a specific change, leading the way as a catalyst that ignites hope and rallies others to champion their school community. Working collaboratively with Calvary PHX, Crystal participates in a variety of events throughout the year including Love Our Schools Day and school CAFEs (Community and Family Engagement Nights), as well as, celebrations for Teacher Appreciation Week. Crystal also actively works with the neighborhood group C28 to create positive change in her community.
The WESD is so proud of Crystal and the work she is doing to engage with her community to benefit her students!
Sweetwater Principal Honored by Arizona Professional Educators
 A special shout out to Susie Smith, principal at Sweetwater School, for earning the 2025 Administrator of the Year Award from Arizona Professional Educators (AZPE)! Principal Smith was surprised with the recognition at a recent staff professional development meeting!
She was nominated for being an outstanding principal who advocates for school administrators through the Washington Principal Association (WPA) and serves on the Washington Education Foundation (WEF) to secure essential funding for the District, all while building meaningful relationships with students, families, staff and community members. Her dedication extends beyond the WESD too, as she leverages her volunteer work with St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities to connect employees with additional resources. Selfless, passionate and inspirational, Principal Smith continuously strives to make a difference in the lives of those she serves.
The WESD is truly grateful for Mrs. Smith’s leadership and dedication.
News From Glendale Union High School District
Back Soon with More Exciting News!
Interested in serving on Phoenix's Boards and Commissions?
 District 1 is seeking community leaders interested in serving as the District's representative for various boards and commissions, such as the Village Planning Committee.
To start the application process, please visit the Boards and Commissions webpage.
Upcoming City Council Meetings
- Next City Council Policy Meeting: June 10th
- Next City Council Formal Meeting: May 21st
Vice Mayor O'Brien has been appointed chairperson of the Economic Development & Housing Subcommittee, and is also a member of the Public Safety & Justice Subcommittee. Visit the Council Subcommittee webpage for the schedule of public meetings.
Learn more about Vice Mayor O'Brien, her priorities and focus for District 1 on the district's webpage.
Connect with us!
   
phoenix.gov/district1
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