Controversy over DiCiccio's bill prompts recall effort

PHOENIX - Three of the eight city council members in Phoenix are facing a recall by different citizen groups.

The group wanting to recall Councilman Sal DiCiccio held a protest and press conference at the State Capitol Monday.

“It’s sad we have to be here today,” said Roman Ulman, head of the Arizona PEOPLE Conference.

The group at the Capitol was mainly made up of the city’s public employees. Their unions' contracts are under threat with DiCiccio’s Senate Bill 1322. 

SB 1322 would require Phoenix and Tucson to allow private companies to bid on big city projects. These workers say that would shift accountability from a worker-taxpayer relationship to a worker-shareholder relationship.

But DiCiccio says his bill is one way to save a broke city government.

“We would use practices used in private business,” he said. “The only other choice is to keep getting more and more money from taxpayers unless we change our practices.”

SB 1322 could be voted on in the next 24 hours. The recall effort will take longer.

No sitting city councilmember in Phoenix has ever been recalled.