In Brief:
- Phoenix voted to delay a light rail project under opposition from state lawmakers.
- The project would serve the state Capitol building, but lawmakers raised concerns about disruptions to their work.
- Light rail has been controversial in Phoenix, but voters have repeatedly backed it.
John Kavanagh, a Republican state senator in Arizona, grew up in Queens. As a kid he used to walk a block to catch the bus, which took him about 15 blocks to the subway, which then carried him to school in Manhattan. It was a great system for moving millions of people living on top of one another.
But, Kavanagh says, “That’s not Phoenix.”
Kavanagh is among a group of Republican state lawmakers in Arizona who have introduced bills aimed at stopping new light rail projects from moving forward in Phoenix, the capital city. They’ve taken particular aim at a planned light rail route that would serve the state Capitol building itself. Through a series of ballot measures, Phoenix residents have approved sales tax increases to pay for public transit upgrades, including light rail projects like the one that would serve the Capitol. But last month, under pressure from the state Legislature, the Phoenix City Council voted 7-2 to delay the Capitol Extension project. Instead the city will move forward with a different route, sidestepping — for now — a showdown with the state Legislature.
Conflicts between Republican-controlled state legislatures and Democratic-led cities are common, with legislatures often putting limits — either through policy or funding decisions — on how cities build their transit networks. In Austin, another state capital, Texas lawmakers have repeatedly sought to rein in or end Project Connect, a transit plan approved by voters in 2020. The North Carolina legislature has repeatedly held some of the state’s biggest cities back from expanding transit projects of their own. The conflict between Phoenix and the state Legislature likewise stems from differing partisan views about the role of public transit and light rail altogether.
“Republicans do not like light rail. We consider it an expensive and inefficient method of moving people,” Kavanagh says. “It’s a Democrat toy to put under the Christmas tree.”
But in Phoenix’s case, it’s also about the specific context of the state Capitol. One bill introduced last year would expand the area around the Capitol that is off-limits to light rail, building on a rule passed by the Legislature a few years ago. State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, the bill’s sponsor, says it’s about protecting access to the Capitol and surrounding area for lawmakers, visitors and demonstrators. Previously, legislative leaders have said the Capitol Extension light rail project would interfere with lawmakers’ parking access.
“We’re saying, hey, this is our area where we work and where we interact with constituents. We feel like we know what will work or not work, and it seemed largely like it was falling on deaf ears, like [Phoenix leaders] know better,” Mesnard says. “We don’t have the most attractive Capitol perhaps, but it nevertheless is our Capitol, so the idea of tearing up the area for [light rail] seems like a bad idea.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat (the mayoralty is officially nonpartisan), is, by contrast, a huge fan of light rail. She says the transit mode provides environmental benefits, economic development, walkability and quality-of-life improvements. Also, shortly after being elected to the Phoenix City Council, Gallego had a seizure and was barred from driving for a time.
“Having been transit-dependent, I’ve been very passionate about transit expansion,” she says.
Gallego says Phoenix voters are broadly supportive of transit, and specifically light rail. As a city councilmember she helped lead the charge for Transportation 2050, a sales tax that was projected to raise more than $16 billion for transit and street improvements. About a third of the money was dedicated for light rail expansion projects. But light rail has been controversial there for years. Shortly after Gallego was elected mayor in 2019, a group of residents organized a ballot proposition to “End Light Rail.” It failed, paving the way for continued light rail expansion.
But the Legislature has continued to oppose it. In 2023, when a Maricopa County transit-funding sales tax was up for reauthorization, Republicans passed a bill that restricted funding for light rail projects. Last year, Republican leaders of the state House and Senate sent Gallego a letter saying they were “united in our opposition to any new light rail extensions.”
Gallego emphasizes that the Capitol Extension project has only been pushed back, not canceled. The route that will move forward instead, into west Phoenix, will be just as beneficial, serving an area with a large Latino population and lots of young people, Gallego says. But she acknowledges that the city’s transit ambitions are hemmed in by the state Legislature.
“I would love to see commuter rail funded at a state level. Right now I don’t see that moving forward,” she says. “Phoenix is the biggest city without Amtrak or a similar service in the country. That kind of project would really benefit from state legislative support. I’m going to keep talking about it, but I know we have work to do to build the constituency.”
