Scottsdale Residents Take Their David vs. Goliath Fight With Axon to the Appeals Court

By Alexander Lomax

The fight over Axon’s Scottsdale headquarters has entered another round, and it’s still a fair question who is winning. Last week, a group of residents filed an appeal seeking to overturn the state law that blocked a public vote on the project. Their argument is simple. Lawmakers cannot erase a constitutional right to challenge a decision at the ballot box.

This fight has swung back and forth. Each side has taken a round. SB1543 is where the momentum shifted.

Round One Went to the Residents

Ordinary neighbors started this. They gathered roughly 27,000 signatures to put the project before voters. That is no small feat, and it was exactly how the referendum process is supposed to work.

Round Two Went to the Bully

Then the Legislature stepped in. SB1543 arrived, reporting indicates Axon lobbied for it, and Gov. Katie Hobbs signed it. The planned election vanished. In effect, the signatures were collected and then set aside.

Round Three Went to the State

Residents went to court next. A trial judge ruled that the law’s population thresholds apply to cities likely to attract international headquarters. In other words, the statute reaches beyond Axon’s own case. That reasoning led him to conclude it was not unconstitutional.

Opponents obviously see it differently. They contend the law was a direct response to their referendum campaign. The timing, they say, tells the story.

Axon CEO Rick Smith. Photo Credit: Jim Poulin, Phoenix Business Journal

Now the Appeals Court

Round four is the one that matters. The appeal puts the question squarely before a higher court. If a statute can wipe out a referendum after the signatures are in, then the right to vote carries an asterisk.

Appeals typically move slowly, so patience will be required. However, the stakes are bigger than one company or one campus. Any city could face a similar play from a well-connected employer. Meanwhile, every voter in Scottsdale has an interest in the answer.

Underdogs do not always win. They do, however, deserve their day in front of a court that takes the Constitution seriously. For now, the best we can do is hope that voting and constitutional rights prevail over the bully in the next round.