One of the more effective Scottsdale citizen activists in recent years has been downtown business owner Bill Crawford.
He’s taken on some tough fights and special interests and come out the other side. Most notably he raised problems the surging success of bars and restaurants in the Entertainment District were having on nearby neighborhoods several years ago. He worked with Mayor Jim Lane and others to enact reforms to alleviate the problems. The Crawford approach stands in marked contrast to former Councilman Bob Littlefield who has inanely suggested shutting down these small, locally owned businesses rather than be a leader and champion the change Crawford did.
Crawford’s successes are why he took a very hard look at running for Scottsdale Mayor. He said his primary motivation was to deny Littlefield, who’s also seeking the post versus the well-regarded current Mayor. But Crawford’s also a realist. Despite running for the City Council previously Crawford has come up short. He knew that leap-frogging Littlefield, a former 3-term member of the City Council and failed Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives, and into a run-off election would be a tall political order.
So he’s opted to align and endorse Mayor Lane in the upcoming November election. Lane and Crawford don’t always agree but they share integrity and a commitment to moving Scottsdale forwards, not backwards as Littlefield wants to do. Crawford and Lane also seem to be aligned on Lane’s call to reform Scottsdale government and create greater City Council representation in the southern part of the city, something Littlefield opposes.
In the end Crawford made the right call for himself, and for Scottsdale. It’s a big boost for Mayor Lane’s candidacy and surely not the last we’ll be seeing from the conscientious Jack LaLanne of civic thought and leadership.