Breaking News: Scottsdale Activist Targets Incumbent Councilman, Mayoral Aspirant

By Recker McDowell —

Scottsdale’s Independent Ethics Panel has instructed City Councilman Guy Phillips to answer questions related to a complaint filed against him by activist Mike Norton.

A new order issued today by the Ethics Panel requires Phillips to answer questions related to whether money that went into a GoFundMe account last year amounted to a financial gift that should have been reported. Today’s order can be seen here: Panel Order re. Supplemental Briefing & Vacating May 14 Hearing[22579]

Phillips must answer questions related to the account by May 4th. He was elected to the Scottsdale City Council in 2012 and reelected in 2016. He is running for reelection this year. The Ethics Panel is made up of retired judges.

Norton’s ethics complaint centers on potential payments to a GoFundMe account and whether they should have been reported by Phillips. The issue is intertwined with the referendum fight over the Southbridge Two development. Phillips’ wife collected petition signatures for the group opposed to the Old Town development.

The complaint was filed in January, according to the Scottsdale Independent.

Phillips denied wrongdoing in a February letter to the city asking the complaint be dismissed saying the GoFundMe account was set up after he suffered an injury at work, according to the Scottsdale Progress. The Ethics Panel order issued today also said Phillips’ request for a dismissal “remains under consideration”.

Norton and other interested parties will have 7 days to respond to Phillips after his answers are submitted. The Ethics Panel can then refer its findings to the Scottsdale City Council which would then accept or deny the investigation’s conclusions.

The inquiry could also potentially involve former City Councilman and mayoral candidate Bob Littlefield.

Littlefield was also a top opponent of Southbridge Two and part of the organized effort to challenge a previous city approval of the downtown development.

Littlefield ran and lost a bid for mayor to Jim Lane in 2016. He is making another run for Mayor with Lane term limited. The race to succeed Lane also includes Scottsdale City Council members Suzanne Klapp and Virginia Korte and former councilors David Ortega and Lisa Borowsky.