Guest Editorial: The Real Buffoon Is Right In Downtown Scottsdale

By the Happy Wanderer

Watching the news, you might not believe that we’re still nearly two years away from the 2020 election. Every day though, the pool of Democratic candidates seeking their party’s nomination for President of the United States gets deeper. Senators Corey Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand are just a few of those who have announced that they will challenge President Donald Trump. The list of accomplishments by each of these candidates is long and distinguished. The Democrats aren’t clowning around.

This list of Democrats is similar in prominence to the list of Republicans who stepped forward seeking their party’s nomination back in 2015. Let’s quickly review some of the distinguishing characteristics of those Republicans. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush added 1.3 million jobs to Florida during his eight-year tenure as the state’s chief executive. Senator Marco Rubio was named to the Time 100, the magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people at the age of 41. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was considered a pioneer amongst national public officials in the battle against the opioid epidemic. Senator Ted Cruz is a brilliant orator and one of the most intellectual politicians in the United States. And Trump, the candidate who rose above them all despite all his faults, experienced massive success as a real estate developer. The 2015 Republicans weren’t a group of jesters.

What did Paradise Valley resident and Scottsdale architectural commentator Scott Jarson think of the Republicans back in 2015? Jarson has come under further scrutiny for his dishonest and surreptitious opposition to Museum Square, a critical project for the southern edge of downtown Scottsdale.

This Facebook post of an early-20th century photo of clowns sums it up:

We’ll forgive Jarson for his foolish grammar slipup. Be that as it may, we won’t forgive him for his absurd post. This guy really thinks a Harvard Law Review editor, a neurosurgeon, a former U.S. Attorney and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard are “clowns”? That’s just down right inane.

Then again, expressing preposterous views isn’t uncharted territory for Jarson. As we’ve written before, he’s the same guy who is trying to halt the landmark Museum Square development in Downtown Scottsdale. He’s the same joker who is taking a clownish stance and standing alone against the tide of support from notable Scottsdale businesses such as The Larsen Art Gallery, The Legacy Gallery as well as numerous Scottsdale elected officials and organizations who all know that Museum Square will have a tremendous, positive impact for the city.

Scotty J. already has “Realtor” on his resume. Maybe he needs to add “Clown” too, because he is far more of one than the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls. Or the Republicans in 2016.