Curious about what Phoenix City Councilmember Anna Hernandez thinks about this year’s budget? Her newest staffer, Oso, will be more than happy to explain.
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Oso is 5 years old and approximately one foot tall, with grey hair and a penchant for soccer balls. He’s also Hernandez’s dog.
Nonetheless, Hernandez has made him District 7’s newest unofficial public information officer and star of the Instagram account @pawlitics_with_oso. Using his big ears and puppy dog eyes, he takes advantage of the internet’s tendency to adore anything to do with dogs (or cats, or insert animal species here) to explain Hernandez’s take on potentially complicated — and let’s admit, maybe even boring — line items to his followers.
“This has been an Oso budget alert. There will be more. I am unleashed. 🐾,” Oso “wrote” in a post about Hernandez’s stance on funding for the Phoenix Police Department.
According to his resume, Oso is a “French Bulldog committed to translating Phoenix’s $3B+ municipal budget into content people actually read.” He graduated with distinction from the Hernandez household with a degree in Puppy Socialization. He also has a self-directed degree in Abolitionist Studies, during which time he wrote his thesis titled “No Dog Consented: Carceral Logic & the Working Animal.”
He is currently continuing his education in “The Streets” with a “concentration in watching things closely and asking why.” He is also the founder, sole member and chief abolitionist for the K-9 Liberation Coalition, a nod at the next city issue he plans to bark at once budget season officially ends.
Oso did not cooperate in an interview with Phoenix New Times, despite being made present for it at the city council offices. (He usually works from home.) Instead of answering questions, he ran around the room, trying to get someone to play with his stuffies. New Times refused to cross ethical lines by bribing Oso with treats, but did administer pets and belly rubs that may have a similar effect.
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“Oso” means “bear” in Spanish. It was originally given to him as a nickname before Hernandez met him, because he was the second-largest puppy in his litter. When Hernandez met him, it felt like kismet — her brother, who was killed by Phoenix police several years ago, had a gamer tag that featured that name.
Hernandez said she brought him on to help explain issues that are complicated to the average person who is not ensconced in the workings of the city. His mentors are Killa and Kirby, two politically minded corgis in Los Angeles who assist city controller Kenneth Mejilla with his public messaging.
He’s doing well so far, she said. Constituents seem to like his explanations.
“I think it just brings a different tone,” Hernandez said. “You see a cute little dog face, like, ‘I’m gonna, I’m gonna personally gonna go read that.’”
Hernandez did admit, however, that she sometimes catches him napping on the job.
Despite his tendency to snooze, the new face of District 7 seems to be appreciated at City Hall. Twice during the interview with New Times, people in the office interrupted to dote on him. In a pun that New Times will forgive for the moment, a District 7 colleague described him as their “most pawlitcally engaged staffer.” City council spokesperson Adam Waltz declined to comment on his four-legged competition, though he did help arrange the interview, conceding that his canine counterpart had an appeal.
It is unclear if other council members will follow Hernandez’s example and enlist their own furbabies to help them get their views out.
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