By Alexander Lomax
Credit: Axon
A lame duck session in politics is the period after the election but before the inauguration of new members. It’s when leaders who either did not run for re-election or lost their re-election raves are unencumbered by future expectations and criticisms, where they can defy the expectations of their constituency with few repercussions. It’s also a time where cagey interests can push through policies that have garnered controversy and ticked off the constituency.
Enter Axon and its hopes to defy nearly the entire city in order to shoehorn its plans for nearly 2,000 apartments into Scottsdale. The fears of those who opposed this egregious plan came to fruition this past week, when Axon took advantage of this lame duck period after the November election to get what it wanted: a Yes vote for its plans.
Perhaps one of the most notable aspects? In the 5-2 yes vote, only one of those yes votes will be in the council dais next year. The majority of those who would not have to pay the piper for a bad vote voted against it.
Obviously this is a serious disappointment, as myself and thousands and thousands of others have expressed their deep dissatisfaction with not just the plans themselves, but also with how Axon conducted itself during the course of this saga, threatening to move its headquarters if it didn’t get its way. But where there is injustice, where the electorate is not being listened to, there is opportunity for civil disobedience, and in this case it looks as though it might come from a familiar face.
Protect Our Scottsdale is chaired by former Councilman Bob Littlefield, a steadfast opponent to unnecessary growth (editor’s note: his wife Kathy was one of the No votes in the Council vote) and it will be looking to secure the approximately 15,000 signatures in order to put it to a public vote and reverse the vote. Scottsdalians may remember how another unpopular development, Southbridge II, was shot down in a similar manner.
The Littlefields have developed a bit of a reputation: stalwart and principled opponents to bad growth in the eyes of their fans, curmudgeons in the eyes of their detractors. And while in the eyes of this humble writer they have often defaulted to saying no past a point of helpfulness, it is difficult to deny that in this case, they are on the right side of history and are well-positioned to take the fight to the next level.
I look forward to seeing if they’re able to harness the obvious discontent and turn it into meaningful opposition. In the meantime, if you see the opportunity to sign a petition to put this to a public vote, do your part and sign (and ask your friends and neighbors to do the same).