Guest Editorial: Kick Out the Clowns: Elect Raoul Zubia.

By John Ainlay

Scottsdale City Council is a clown show. That’s why I commend Raoul Zubia’s campaign signs that read “Kick out the clowns.” This slogan will resonate with anyone who has attended a council meeting in the last year and a half and it expresses exactly what voters need to do this July when we have an opportunity to vote for new Scottsdale City Council members and elect Raoul Zubia.

The current City Council is failing us. As voters consider their three choices for council, they must be ready to elect Raoul Zubia. Not having Raoul on the council will only invite more chaos because the leader of the current clown show, Barry Graham, is trying to strengthen his “bloc” by getting new clowns elected. And those candidates will certainly spell disaster for City Hall.

Let’s quickly review the obnoxious occupants of the clown car:

The driver of the clown car, Barry Graham, brags that he puts the taxpayer first, yet he is dead set on building unneeded parking garages at the taxpayer’s expense. Graham ran on a platform of listening to residents and managing budgets, but he has governed like a petulant toddler. He has proven to be more interested in rolling back ten years of Scottsdale progress, stifling council debate, silencing constituents during public comment, rejecting citizen petitions, and picking petty fights with Mayor Borowsky than actually governing. And during his tenure, he has done nothing positive for the city. At this point, the only thing Graham has actually built is public frustration, and re-electing him would be a colossal mistake.

Next up is alleged sexual harasser and serial loser Michelle-Ugenti Rita. When she’s not posing for weird videos with Rob Schneider or reportedly doing body shots in bars, she is fixated on spewing disinformation and sowing division. Since her humiliating departure from the state legislature and two subsequent failed attempts at elected office, Michelle has been looking for a new place to hang her hat. So now she is bringing her narcissistic, hyper-partisan, performative politics to the City Council race. And despite her checkered past, she is campaigning across Scottsdale. She must think we have short memories, but we don’t. We recall one news report from six years ago that after nude photos of Ugenti-Rita were allegedly sent to the person accusing her of harassment, the recipient responded, “I’m not interested; please stop messaging me.” Scottsdale voters may be feeling much the same way: Stop messaging us. We’re not interested.

And then there’s former council member Bob Littlefield, who, along with his wife and outgoing council member, Kathy Littlefield, are in the world’s worst relay race, handing the baton back and forth to each other without giving anyone else a turn. They have served a combined 6 terms. As the saying goes, politicians are like diapers – they should be changed regularly, and for the same reason. Littlefield has a vested interest in TAAAZE’s legal efforts to stop the Axon campus because, until two weeks ago he was the CEO of TAAAZE. The organization has raised approximately $500,000, over which Bob Littlefield has control as the organization’s CEO. Meanwhile, instead of doing the right thing and recusing herself, his wife has been participating in council votes that directly affect TAAAZE. When he was on council, Bob voted to raise taxes and defund Scottsdale police. Now, Bob should little the field of City Council candidates by dropping out of the race.

Finally, we have failed Corporation Commission candidate Eric Sloan, who was fired from his job at the Arizona Department of Gaming after complaints from nearly 20 employees that he created a frat-house work environment. Eric seems more interested in hailing Barry Graham than offering any new ideas. At a recent candidates forum, Sloan seemed to be fawning over clown leader Graham instead of offering any reasons why he’d make a good councilmember. When offered the opportunity to question another candidate, Sloan turned to Graham and even went so far as to ask Barry what he was proudest of on council, all while failing to really answer questions of his own. It was a sweet moment, but Scottsdale needs fixers with real solutions, not frat boys and bootlickers.

Make no mistake. These are clowns.

In contrast, Raoul Zubia is a lifelong Scottsdale resident and a community advocate who transcends the political spectrum, as showcased by his numerous endorsements. Raoul’s thirty years of banking experience, his respect for the community, his calm and thoughtful demeanor, and his common-sense approach to governance make him an obvious choice for the Scottsdale City Council at a time when his responsible leadership style is desperately needed.

Scottsdale, it’s time to “Kick out the clowns,” and prevent any new ones from getting in. Please join me in electing Raoul Zubia this July.

John Ainlay is a Scottsdale resident, activist, and former senior executive in the logistics industry.