Op-Ed: Councilman Barry Graham Kept His Word

We moved to Scottsdale because we love this city. We needed a councilman who would put residents before special interests — and keep his word.

Barry Graham has been that councilman. He works with colleagues and builds coalitions. He does not go along to get along.

Barry’s record speaks for itself. He protected our water rather than give it away to the large apartment developers who donate to his opponents. He opposed the high-density projects that congest our streets and chip away at our quality of life, including Axon’s 2,000 apartments. He pushed back on divisive bureaucracies that raise costs for residents.

Graham exposed more than $150 million in cost overruns, then led the taxpayer reforms that ended the routine overruns and refocused spending on public safety and roads. He kept a controversial roundabout off Scottsdale Road without losing the grant funding. He stopped road diets, curbed the bar district’s growth, reined in short-term rental bad actors, and ended the push for city-run homeless shelters in our neighborhoods.

No one does that work alone. Barry Graham has played a major role, and we thank him for it.

That is also why big-money interests have spent hundreds of thousands to replace him. They know they can’t bully or buy him.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Barry Graham are running as a “vote-for-two.” We want to keep the progress going. That is why we will be voting for Michelle and Barry.