By Ronald Sampson
Jim Lane. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
Regular readers and most Scottsdalians are aware of Proposition 490, the Protect and Preserve Initiative that will expand maintenance and upgrades for our city’s many parks while simultaneously reducing our collective tax burden, a situation that’s as much of a win-win as you will ever find in government. But of course, you will never make 100% of people happy, even with something that’s as obvious of a Yes vote as this.
Enter former Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, who along with local activist Susan Wood and political activist Yvonne Cahill made the dubious decision to oppose the will of an overwhelming majority of voters as per recent polling. They utilized the Goldwater Institute, a group that has never found a legal battle related to taxation that they weren’t willing to fight, and attempted to get Prop 490 kicked off the ballot in a desperate last minute hail mary attempt.
Last Friday, the courts spoke up; a Maricopa County Superior Court judge threw the complaint out due to a lack of merit. The Goldwater Institute plans to appeal still.
Regarding the action by the court, Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said, “A small, minority of residents opposing Prop 490 cannot use the courts to deny every other Scottsdale voter an opportunity to cast a ballot. Yet, that is exactly what the Goldwater Institute with plaintiff, former Mayor Jim Lane tried to do….With today’s ruling, Mayor Lane should do what right by Scottsdale residents: Say NO to a Goldwater Institute appeal, NO to wasting more of our tax dollars on a meritless case, NO to running the clock down as a way to deny us a vote, and YES to Scottsdale voters!”
It is disappointing and perplexing that former Mayor Lane would choose to hurt his own legacy significantly by choosing such an unpopular fight. Rumors had been mounting that he was considering another run for Mayor, something that would be nothing short of Quixotic considering Mayor Ortega’s relative popularity and the collective pendulum swinging away from his administration’s “growth at all costs” mentality to a much more growth-hesitant electorate. Perhaps he simply can’t exit gracefully from the political arena and enjoy retirement like he’s earned.
If Mayor Lane continues to fight against the will of the people and their right to make their views known on their ballots, he will only serve to further diminish his own legacy, and it’s truly unfortunate. Like an aging prizefighter who everyone else knows shouldn’t still be in the ring but he still thinks he has the goods, it’s ugly bordering on embarrassing to watch. He really should know better