Phoenix Mayor Candidate Daniel Valenzuela struggles to explain garnish wages.

Phoenix New Times ^ | 8/23/2018 | PMC

[PMC2018]

Mayoral candidate Daniel Valenzuela had his salary garnished last year while a member of the Phoenix City Council because of thousands of dollars in unpaid debt, Phoenix New Times has learned.

Valenzuela owed $12,208 in debt and interest to the Arizona Federal Credit Union as recently as last year, court documents show. Until April, Valenzuela’s city salary was being garnished to pay back the money owed after the creditor secured a judgment against Valenzuela in Agua Fria Justice Court.

[PMC2018]

His city salary was later garnished at a reduced rate of 15 percent in September 2017, according to court documents, after Valenzuela “agreed to voluntarily accept a reduced amount withheld."

Valenzuela faces another outgoing city council member, Kate Gallego, in the November special election to replace former Greg Stanton, who resigned in May to run for Congress. Gallego's campaign declined to comment on Valenzuela's financial situation.

Valenzuela and Gallego are both Democrats, although the city ballot is nonpartisan. A pair of city hall outsiders, Republican Moses Sanchez https://www.mosessanchez.com/ and libertarian Nicholas Sarwark, are also competing for the mayor's office. https://phoenixmayorcandidates.com/

Last October, Stanton announced that he planned to step down to run in Congressional District 9. Hours later, Valenzuela declared that he would run for mayor. Stanton resigned on May 29, and Valenzuela followed suit on July 18.

Valenzuela, 43, works as a firefighter in Glendale.