Mary Rose Wilcox

              Arizona Latina Trailblazers Vol III Stories of Courage, Hope and Determination By Dr. Christine Marin
Vol III
By
Christine Marin, Ph.D.
Published by
Latino Perspectives Media
and
Raul H. Castro Institute
Vol III
Copyright @ 2011
by Latino Perspectives Media and Raul H. Castro Institute
Phoenix, Arizona
Edited by: Joan Westlake / Phoenix College
Designed by: Alfredo Hernández / Phoenix College
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
The publishers grant permission to individual teachers to reproduce the contents of this
book for educational purposes and classroom use.
Limit of Liability/ Disclaimer of Warranty: While the author and the publishers have
used their best efforts in preparing this publication, they make no representations or
warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of its contents and specifically
disclaim any intent to defame or slight any people, places or organizations.
Printed in the United States of America
April 2011
Arizona Latina Trailblazers 2011
5
As Arizona approaches its Centennial
Celebration, it is an ideal occasion to
honor and celebrate six Latina Trailblazers
who represent more than 100 years of
contributions that continue to be vital to
this state. The life journeys of these women
are filled with compelling stories that
reflect the strength of their vision, their
courageous actions, and their thoughtful
advocacy.
It was 1872 when Manuela Sotelo
brought her family to the Salt River Valley.
A widow, she was legendary for her astute
land purchases and for sharing her frontier-honed
skills with all. She and her daughter,
María Sotelo Miller, saw grandchildren go
on to teach after being trained at the school
Manuela and María helped to establish —
Tempe Territorial Normal School.
In search of the American Dream, two
generations of the Cajero family came to
mine in Morenci, Ariz. in the early 1900s.
They had a dream of a better life for both
their family and community. This vision
was instilled in Bernardo and Carmen
Cajero, and was fulfilled through their
work in the legislature. This dream continues
today, through the work of their daughter,
State Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford.
Cecilia Esquer and Maricopa County
Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox left their
mining community of Superior to pursue
an education during the turbulent 60s.
The Chicano Movement helped to direct
their pursuit of equality. Excelling in their
varied careers, their contributions to the
Democratic Party are legendary, as are
their achievements on behalf of the poor,
the dispossessed, women and children, the
sick, and the elderly.
These six Latina Trailblazers represent a
rich heritage of moral courage, sacrifice and
fortitude. They come from communities
that taught lessons of cultural survival while
tending the love of la familia in the heart.
The lives of these Trailblazers shine a light
on the path of service and social conscience.
We honor them and all that they represent
as strong role models and pioneers who
forged our rich cultural heritage. They are
extraordinary women of Arizona.
INTRODUCTION
30
Born in Superior, Ariz. in 1949, Mary
Rose Wilcox left the copper mining
town to pursue a degree in social work
from Arizona State University. “I came
down to the Valley and it was culture
shock,” she said. “There were only three
Hispanics in the dorm, and I thought,
‘Where is everybody?’” Eventually she
found “everybody” and entered into three
decades of service to her constituents in
Maricopa County.
In 1983, she was the first Mexican
American woman elected to the Phoenix
City Council and, in 1993, was elected to
the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
She is candid about the fact that these
Mary Rose Wilcox
Mining Town Values Produce Gem of a Politician
Girl Scout Mary Rose Wilcox and Troop; Betty Garrido, troop leader, was one of the first Hispanic women to become a Girl
Scout troop leader in Superior, Arizona
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
31
Mary Rose Wilcox
victories did not come easily. Nonetheless,
Mary Rose hasn’t wavered in her commit-ment
to community service or her deter-mination
to improve the lives of others.
Her copper mining town roots and a labor
union heritage have instilled in her a com-mitment
to public service and an apprecia-tion
of the value of people working together
to solve economic and political problems.
Mary Rose’s maternal great-grandpar-ents
brought their young family to Superior
from Florence, Ariz. in 1903. Her great-grandmother,
Rosa Ruiz, was born in
Magdalena, Mexico, in 1875 and married
Teadoro Nunezin, from Tucson, Ariz. in
1893. They had three sons, five daughters
and two foster children. Their middle
daughter, Minnie, married Roy Whitlow
and had two children, including Bertha
(“Betty”), the mother of Mary Rose.
Anacleto and Venancía Chaus Garrido,
her paternal great-great-grandparents,
came to the United States from Spain.
Their son, Juan Garrido, brought his
family to Superior from Jerome, Ariz.
in approximately 1922 and found work
with the Magma Copper Co. He worked
underground and, over time, contracted
silicosis, the lung disease common among
miners. He died of the disease on Aug. 17,
1940, at the age of 47.
His son, John, learned a hard lesson
from the death of his father and other
miners like him. Returning from military
service, he vowed to work with Mexicanos
to end the discrimination in Superior. Their
children attended a segregated school and
there was a dual-wage system of work and
pay at the mine. John soon joined with
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
John and Betty Garrido
32
others to form a labor union to negotiate
for fair wages and equitable treatment. His
fight for equality became a path his daughter
would follow. Mary Rose learned from him
that a people united are never defeated.
Her mother’s example of community
service and concern for the well-being of
her neighbors also became part of Mary
Rose’s inspirations. Betty’s work with the
poor and the Catholic Church are renown.
Her love of history is reflected in the many
years as a member of the Superior Historical
Society. Betty’s tireless work as researcher
and editor of the 1982 publication, “Superior,
Arizona Centennial, 1882-1982,” is an impor-tant
historic contribution.
As Mary Rose began her studies at
Arizona State University in the mid 60s, the
Chicano civil rights movement was giving
rise to groups such as the Mexican American
Student Organization known as MASO. In
November 1968, when MASO learned of
pay-and-promotion discrimination against
Mexican American laundry workers at
the Phoenix Linen and Towel Supply Co.,
students staged protests at ASU because the
university held a contract with the linen
company. MASO demanded an end to
the service agreement and a meeting with
college president George Homer Durham.
There was a sit-in at Durham’s office with
nearly 300 students, Mary Rose among
them. After several meetings with MASO,
Durham agreed to end the contract.
As she stood with MASO at anti-
Vietnam War demonstrations, the Chicana
Mary Rose Wilcox
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox; 1971, wedding photo
Mary Rose Wilcox
33
from Superior found her calling as a social
activist. Soon, she met Earl Wilcox, a youth
project director in South Phoenix on a path
to becoming a state legislator and a justice
of the peace in his community. They mar-ried
in 1971. Mary Rose supported her hus-band’s
pursuit of his Master’s of Education
at ASU by becoming a job developer for the
federal Manpower program in Maricopa
County. The work suited her, offering new
challenges that would propel her to the
political arena.
In May and June of 1972, the Santa
Rita Center near Buckeye and 10th
Street became the United Farm Worker’s
headquarters, where nightly masses were
held, and Cesar Chavez spoke out against
legislation prohibiting unions, boycotts
and organizing. Many nationally renowned
political activists showed up in support of
Cesar’s 24-day fast. Mary Rose and Earl
attended the masses with their baby
daughter, Yvonne.
“I’ll never forget the night that Coretta
Scott King came to the center,” Mary Rose
said. “She picked up my little Yvonne and
said, ‘This is what this movement is all
about.’ And I thought, yes, it’s about our
children. That really launched both me and
Earl into political action. I was able to tell
Cesar later that I wouldn’t have been in
politics without him pushing us to
get involved.”
In 1977, she worked with American
Indians in northern Arizona who had been
displaced by a flood-control project. Mary
Rose helped relocate their village to the
Scottsdale area, providing new homes and
jobs. The relocation success caught the
attention of Arizona’s Democratic Sen.
Dennis DeConcini. In 1978, she accepted
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
Mary Rose Wilcox (left), Cesar Chavez, Earl Wilcox
Mary Rose Wilcox
34
his invitation to become a caseworker. She
subsequently became the senator’s special
assistant and liaison with the Small Business
Administration and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
Mary Rose was on her way to a major
political benchmark: a seat on the Phoenix
City Council. She campaigned for a seat
in the newly-formed 7th District, which
encompassed many Mexican American vot-ers
in the south and southwest portions of
Phoenix, and in 1983, she became the first
Mexican American woman to be elected
to the Phoenix City Council. Her election
by the members of the City Council as
vice mayor of Phoenix in 1988 brought her
even more political visibility. Mayor Terry
Goddard acknowledged her strengths as a
grass-roots leader and supported her efforts
to create positive change.
She was a council member for 10 years,
leaving only to win a seat on the Maricopa
County Board of Supervisors. County
supervisors serve four-year terms and can
be continuously re-elected, which she has been
by District 5 voters since her first win in 1993.
As a council member and supervi-sor,
Mary Rose has been instrumental in
the economic revitalization of downtown
Phoenix. Believing that the sports venue
would bring economic opportunity, she
supported the early efforts to build the
major sports venue known then as Bank
One Ballpark (BOB). She cast a deciding
vote and convinced another supervisor to
join her on the decision. Her advocacy in
support of the stadium tax led to Mary Rose
being shot and wounded in August 1997 as
she was leaving a county board meeting.
District 5 has experienced a num-ber
of improvements under Mary Rose’s
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox signing a Bank One
Ballpark construction beam
Mary Rose Wilcox
35
leadership. Buckeye received a new public
library. El Mirage and Surprise had flood-damaged
roads repaired. She spearheaded a
program that took 400 guns off the streets
by giving $50 food certificates in exchange
for weapons being dropped off at partici-pating
churches and social agencies. Her
Neighborhood Fight Back program high-lighted
the problems of inner-city crime,
reinforcing her reputation as a tough crime
fighter. She helped launch Kool Kids, a
program that enabled inner-city children to
swim without a fee at Phoenix pools.
Mary Rose serves on numerous boards
and commissions and has achieved national
acclaim for her groundbreaking work with
organizations such as the National Council
of La Raza; the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund; the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed
Officials; and the National Association of
Counties Human Services Committee.
Where other elected officials might fear
to tread – a protest march for immigration
Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox join the march on Martin Luther King Jr. Day; January 17, 2006. Newspaper clipping from The
Arizona Republic
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
Mary Rose Wilcox
36
rights, a stand against police brutality, the
work to establish Martin Luther King Civil
Rights Day in Arizona, a public spat with
the county sheriff – Mary Rose remains
unafraid. She is an advocate for the homeless,
prisoners, victims of police shootings and
youth. She stands firm in her beliefs regard-less
of political trends.
She said that she has always believed that
growing up in the copper mining town of
Superior helped her to focus on what matters
the most to her community. Viewing her dis-trict
as a group of small towns, Mary Rose
identifies the leaders and their issues, and
then works with them to create solutions.
Mary Rose helped to found the Hispanic
Women’s Corporation, which sponsors the
Hispanic Women’s Conference, hosting over
1,500 women annually at a gathering that
helps young Latinas progress in business and
community life. She has received numerous
honors, including Valle del Sol’s Exemplary
Leadership Award; Maricopa County
Continuum of Care Regional Committee
on Homelessness Community Leader of the
Year; Maricopa Integrated Health System
Dedication Award; Downtown Phoenix
Partnership Board of Directors Service
Award; and Guadalupe Family Health
Center Award of Appreciation. She has been
inducted into the Superior Hall of Fame.
“What has really helped is having a
husband who is involved,” said Mary Rose.
“We’ve been married 40 years and both of
us have been involved in politics, so he is a
good sounding board for me. We’re mar-ried,
we’re business partners, we’re political
partners and I think that has helped me sus-tain
myself.” For Mary Rose and Earl, their
greatest sources of pride are their daughter,
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
Earl Wilcox (left), Mary Rose Wilcox , Phoenix Councilman
Michael Johson, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, US Repre-sentative
Ed Pastor
37
Yvonne, and five grandsons. Yvonne has been
a constant at Mary Rose’s side, helping out
at the family restaurants. Even if Supervisor
Mary Rose is in executive session, staffers
know that she will leave the meeting to take
an important family call.
Mary Rose is a boxing fan, gaining a love
for the sport while growing up in Superior,
where Saturday night entertainment was
boxing at the MAGMA Club. She works out
at Grant Park Boxing Club with her hus-band,
and has served on the Arizona Boxing
Commission for six years.
She and Earl, a former state legislator
and justice of the peace, reside in downtown
Phoenix and remain heavily involved in their
community. They have worked to revitalize
the Grant Park neighborhood for more than
a decade, recently dedicating the Grant Park
Boxing Club to allow neighborhood kids to
box for free. It may come as little surprise
that Mary Rose’s public profile is that of a
fighter. She continues to advocate for the
advancement of Latinas as she serves as a
source of inspiration for anyone looking to
make a difference within their community.
Mary Rose Wilcox
Image courtesy of Mary Rose Wilcox
The Wilcox family -Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox, daughter Yvonne, son-in-law Byron Rhymes and grandchildren
DeterminationAs educators, social workers, labor leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, judicial representatives, home makers, nurses, ranch wives, or political representa-tives, Latinas and Hispanas have long been at the forefront of Arizona’s history. It is important that we recognize the impact of their individual contributions, and imperitive that their collective stories be recalled and shared, especially as we approach Arizona’s 100th anniversary of statehood in 2012.The life journeys of the Arizona Latina Trailblazers are filled with compelling stories that reflect the strength of their vision, their courageous actions, and their thoughtful advocacy. Their outstanding leadership formed strong cultural cornerstones, laying the foundation for women in leadership roles today. And so we honor them and all that they represent, pioneers who forged our rich cultural heritage and strong role models.Raul H. Castro InstitutePUBLIC POLICY | EDUCATION | LEADERSHIPVol Stories Remain Important in Arizona‘s History