For some time the belief in Scottsdale political circles was that if you ever wanted to be on City Council, 2020 was the time to run.
That’s because Councilwomen Suzanne Klapp and Virginia Korte would be abandoning their seats to run for Mayor since the term-limited Jim Lane cannot serve again. And that appears to be on track. But the other presumption that Councilman Guy Phillips would not run for a third and last term on council in favor of another office may no longer be operable.
We’re not sure the last time Scottsdale had three open council seats but the prospect in 2020 was the reason the potential field is nearly as large as that seeking the Democratic nomination for President. We wrote about the potentials previously.
Word is that Councilman Phillips is now likely to seek re-election, complicating the calculations of many. Though Phillips has never been a prolific fundraiser he has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and was on the right side of history early and often in the Desert Discovery Center matter.
It will be interesting to watch in the coming months who might decide to opt out of the race if Phillips is in.