Op-Ed: Michelle Ugenti-Rita Is All About Control, For Herself

By Carol Burns

Michelle Ugenti-Rita is running for Scottsdale City Council, which makes this a good time to revisit her stance on local control.

As a state representative, Ugenti sponsored legislation forcing municipalities to consolidate their local elections with state and federal election dates. Cities and towns strongly objected, arguing that the mandate diminished local control and risked burying municipal issues beneath partisan state and national politics.

Ugenti was not exactly coy about the political implications. She called the legislation an “anti-union bill” and acknowledged it might result in more conservative candidates winning municipal elections.

So much for keeping City Hall nonpartisan. Fountain Hills council minutes are even more eye popping. Local officials specifically questioned Ugenti about what her election changes would mean for their all-mail voting system. She assured them their all-mail-ballot status would be maintained and said they were “not going to have a problem.” When officials continued raising concerns, she said she was almost positive there would be no issues.

Those concerns were hardly frivolous. Contemporary correspondence included in the records warned that independent voters could face confusion about receiving ballots and argued that the legislation intruded directly on local control.

Michelle is endorsed by groups that funded elements of January 6th and have endorsed election deniers. Her running mate, Barry Graham, has endorsed Alexander Kolodin—one of the pillars of the Kraken Lawsuit and an election denier himself.

Now Ugenti-Rita wants Scottsdale voters to put her in charge of a city government whose autonomy she previously voted to restrict from the Legislature.

That deserves more scrutiny. Scottsdale does not need another councilmember who believes local control is wonderful until politicians decide they know better. Before Ugenti-Rita asks for control of City Hall, she should explain why she once worked so hard to take control away from you.