Scottsdale Taxpayers Deserve the Record, Not the Spin

By Tom Kube

Councilwoman Solange Whitehead used a Scottsdale Independent column to claim Councilman Barry Graham “killed” a $250 million water-recycling program and would eventually send costs to complete the program soaring. She voted for the budget herself, then closed by urging a vote for Raoul Zubia.

Anyone who watched the meeting knows the city is waiting on updated environmental and health regulations before moving forward. After the council unanimously voted to postpone the $250 million project, rating agencies affirmed Scottsdale’s AAA bond rating. Ms. Whitehead’s manufactured scare never happened.

The record from the years she led the council majority is even starker. More than $150 million in cost overruns sailed through, including $7M on the Miller and Osborn roundabout, $29M on Scottsdale Road roundabout, and $56M on the North Scottsdale sewer line. She waived those costs through, backed tax increases, and fought Graham’s accountability efforts.

Roads told the same story. When Councilwoman Whitehead took office they were rated 80 out of 100. By late 2024, they had fallen into the low 60s, while money went to new bureaucracies, controversial road diets, and other ideological programs.

Relief came in 2025 when the new council majority hired City Manager Greg Caton, who returned the city to core services like street maintenance and built a “TIGER” team to keep capital projects on budget and schedule. Rest assured that if cost overruns were still routine, Whitehead would now be shouting about them.

It seems Ms. Whitehead’s chosen candidate doesn’t even agree with her. Asked on a recent podcast what costs he would cut, Raoul Zubia was unable to give a single example, eventually admitting “the current Council … is very good about their spending.”

Taxpayers are thankful that Councilman Barry Graham helped restore fiscal discipline. Michelle Ugenti-Rita’s legislative record matches that discipline. Because the city’s fiscal health is on the ballot, I’ll be supporting Graham and Ugenti-Rita.

Tom Kube is a Scottsdale resident