Thank You Councilman Durham! I’m Honored to be Cannon Fodder for You!

By Alexander Lomax For Scottsdale political wonks, it’s been a fun year regardless, but few developments have been as fun as Councilman Tom Durham essentially peacing-out of his re-election campaign and turning all of his efforts towards defeating Adam Kwasman in his race to defeat him. Rarely has an active candidate told everyone publicly, “Don’t vote for me, vote for … Read More

A Community with Vision will Thrive

By Preserve Pioneer and Former Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross Scottsdale has an unmatched quality of life because our community came together with a Vision.  Thanks to that Vision we have built a world class park system, a beautiful greenbelt through the middle of the community, and a one of a kind McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I was here for every one … Read More

Guest Editorial: Only it ISN’T Monopoly money. It’s OUR money.

By Alan Bovi Let’s say you’ve budgeted 10K of your savings to do some home projects. You get quotes, you’re within 5-10% of your budget and you proceed. Only the contractor you’ve selected now says that project is 30K. Or what if it’s a large house remodel budgeted and quoted at 100K…oops, the contractor now says it’s 300K. Hmm, do … Read More

Scottsdale is Suing Itself?!? What’s Up with That?

No one likes it when lawyers get involved (except for lawyers themselves). Legal battles always lead to an incredible amount of money spent and rarely is anyone truly satisfied with a result (again, except for the lawyers). Thus when a recent headline hit the wire, it had us double-taking: the city is suing itself. Wait, what? Yes, put more specifically, … Read More

Breaking News

Axon has resubmitted plans for massive project in north Scottsdale.

ASM versus Optima: Where Economic Growth Battles Quality of Life

We all want economic growth, and Arizona (and Scottsdale, more specifically) has been on fire in that regard recently. This has been optimized by the massive recent announcement by semiconductor-adjacent giant ASM, which recently announced an absolutely mammoth expansion in Scottsdale (you can learn more about it here). But as with anything mammoth, there will be winners and there will … Read More

Scottsdale Mayoral Campaign Update: Where Do the Candidates Stand?

The Scottsdale Mayoral run-off between Mayor David Ortega and Lisa Borowsky is entering its final stages, and there are a number of things we can glean from the final stretch. First, the last campaign finance reports of note have been released, and that offers crucial insight. Q3 was a very strong fundraising quarter for Mayor Ortega, raising $113K and leaving … Read More

The District 4 House Race: The Richest State House Race in Arizona History?

Regular readers of this blog (or other political nerds who simply haven’t come across the Arizona Progress & Gazette yet) understand that the race to control both the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate is an incredibly tight and important one. With mere one seat advantages in both the House and Senate, Arizona Republicans’ control of both chambers … Read More

A Fascinating New Dynamic In Scottsdale

As reported here, Axon is plotting to bring its highly controversial and widely opposed plan to build the largest apartment complex in Scottsdale history back to the lame-duck Scottsdale City Council following the November 5thelection.  The units would adjoin its previously pledged and approved corporate headquarters. Axon clearly believes it has the best chance to secure 4 (or 5 votes if … Read More

Guest Editorial: Vote Jacobs, Beasley, Hassler for SUSD Governing Board

By Jan Dubauskas We are SUSD parents. All five of our children have attended SUSD schools; our two little girls currently attend Copper Ridge Elementary School. Our older children received excellent educations. Unfortunately, the District’s stark decline in academic performance and sharp decline in enrollment is noticeable to all parents – and it’s alarming. Parents expect the District to provide … Read More