Pruitt's, foe leading protest agree to talk with Gordon

Casey Newton

The Arizona Republic
Dec. 10, 2007 12:00 AM

A furniture-store owner and the immigrant-rights advocate leading protests against the store agreed in principle over the weekend to work with Mayor Phil Gordon to settle their long-running dispute.

Michael Sensing, a co-owner of M.D. Pruitt's Home Furnishings in east Phoenix, and Salvador Reza, who has led weekly demonstrations in front of the store for two months, said in separate interviews that they were willing to talk to Gordon.

A previous truce negotiated through the Mayor's Office last year fell apart in October. Sensing said any new deal should be written to ensure all sides follow up on promises. Last year, Sensing agreed to stop hiring off-duty police to patrol Pruitt's parking lot as long as Reza worked to establish a day-labor center nearby.

"I would want some commitment from him that they're gonna make sure it happens this time," he said.

Reza urged a boycott of Pruitt's after its owners asked Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies to patrol the parking lot and surrounding area for laborers who were trespassing. Reza said that action and the subsequent hiring of deputies to patrol during protests were discriminatory.

Outside Phoenix store, border debate rages on