Get to Know Your Candidates: Our Q&A with Scottsdale City Councilmember Solange Whitehead

As a reminder, we sent out a similar questionnaire to every candidate for Scottsdale city council. Their submissions are being posted in the order of being received. All of the questions were the same except for the last two, which were customized to each candidate.

1. Do you support the Axon development as originally proposed, including up to 1,900 residential units, or the compromise proposal of around 600 units. If not, what conditions would you require before lending your support?

After working with residents to ensure lower apartment counts, for sale condominiums and significant community investments, I voted to keep the Axon World Headquarters in Scottsdale. Axon keeps resident taxes low, provides extraordinary support to our police department, and attracts top tech talent to Scottsdale. Axon’s new campus will establish Scottsdale as the global destination for law enforcement, research, training, and conferences adding a very important new tourism sector to the economy.  Axon is required to meet the 100-year water supply like all development. They are setting a new standard for carefully monitored self certification which saves taxpayer monies. Axon will be better for the neighborhood than an already allowed 24/7 warehouse operation.

 

2. In your opinion has the amount of apartment approvals and construction in recent years has been too little, too much or just about right?

In the 2010’s Council’s approval of large apartment complexes and dramatic height allowances along the 101 and in Old Town undermined Scottsdale’s brand.  Much of what residents see going up today are the result of these approvals.

Beginning with my first term in 2019, I made fundamental changes to multifamily approvals lowering heights, adding public open spaces, and improved value and livability with more trees and pedestrian infrastructure.  We approved a suite of new building codes to conserve water, reduce urban heat, improve the quality of new construction, and lower utility bill for future residents.

With a previous Council, I updated the voter-approved General Plan and Old Town Character Area Plan to further protect residential neighborhoods and Scottsdale’s character. I’ve also successfully helped defeat a number of State legislature bills that would have allowed by-right apartment zoning in Scottsdale.

 I don’t anticipate any applications for large apartment complexes.  Instead, development is transitioning to  smaller ‘middle housing’ communities.

 

3. In your view, is development in Scottsdale currently proceeding at the right pace, too quickly, or too slowly, and what principles would guide your votes on major development proposals?

It has slowed to a more correct pace. Through ordinance changes and the adoption of new character area plans and building codes, development proposals today protect neighborhoods, conserve our natural resources, improve our walkability, and respect Scottsdale’s character. 

 

4. The Colorado River faces a deepening crisis, with Lake Powell at historically low levels. What specific policies should Scottsdale pursue to protect its long-term water security?

For decades, Scottsdale has invested in and led the nation in recycled water treatment and conservation. In 2024, my colleagues and I adopted a Scottsdale Water Strategic Plan that – if followed – will keep water flowing and affordable in Scottsdale. 

Scottsdale and Arizona have a history and the know-how to overcome today’s water challenges.  Sufficient and disciplined investment in maintaining water infrastructure is needed along with rebates, ordinances and sufficient staffing levels that assist businesses and residents conserve water and save money. Finally, Scottsdale Water’s investment in four Strategic Plan projects will diversify our water portfolio and provide cost effective and drought-proof water for the future. 

 

5. What is your position on the boundaries of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and under what circumstances, if any, would you support changes to land currently designated as preserve?

After careful research by two Council appointed citizen groups- the McDowell Mountains Task Force in 1992 and the Desert Preservation Task Force in 1997, the citizens of Scottsdale voted to create the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and set the boundaries. Their tax dollars have permanently protected 30,000 acres, the largest urban Preserve in the nation. We need to respect those votes and focus on properly caring for this land.

As a former Preserve Commissioner and passionate protector of the Preserve, I will oppose any efforts to remove land or add inappropriate uses on it! Our Preserve, along with the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt, are Scottsdale’s crown jewels.

 

6. How would you approach funding police and fire services, and are there areas of the current public safety budget you would change?

I have updated a host of financial policies to keep Scottsdale financially secure. Including new policies for Police and Fire personnel.

Public safety, as a priority, needs to be funded and that has been my strength.  I led two successful ballot initiatives hat have delivered for public safety: the 2019 bonds and Proposition 490 (Protect and Preserve). As a result, I have ensured that police and fire have the equipment, staffing-levels, and pay they deserve.  Scottsdale has also been able to add an ambulance service, a police ranger unit, and build police and fire training facilities. 

I am proudly endorsed by the Police Officers of Scottsdale Association (POSA) – the only incumbent to earn this endorsement.  The Scottsdale Fire Fighters Association has not yet made endorsements. I earned the endorsements of both in 2022.

 

7. Old Town is always a centerpiece of the conversation regarding Scottsdale. What (if anything) would you do to improve it?

Our voter-ratified General Plan 2035 and Council revised and adopted Old Town Character Area Plan in 2024 were written to protect the character and history of Scottsdale’s Old Town. The Character Area plan substantially reduced allowable bonus heights, added public open space and robust landscaping, and shade.  My negotiations have increased walkability, minimized barriers for smaller developments, and protected historic buildings. 

I also led the successful effort to re-locate the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer’s Market to its new location at City Hall—after a Council majority voted to proceed with the parking garage and without a parking study.

I also have worked to enable Old Town businesses to thrive and strongly oppose efforts by some on Council to use bureaucracy as a means to shut down small businesses including the long-standing Old Town Tavern.

 

8. Scottsdale faces competing demands on its budget. What are your priorities for city spending, and are there areas where you would cut or redirect resources?

When tax dollars are spent on taxpayer priorities, those dollars deliver prosperity—and I’ve spent eight years delivering on this. On my watch, I have funded infrastructure, doubled the city’s financial reserves, paid down the ballooning public safety pension funds $150 million, secured 30-years of dedicated funding to reinvest in our parks and mitigate wildfires in the Preserve and NAOS, maintained Scottsdale AAA bond rating, and lowered residents’ tax rates.

 

9. What is your approach to addressing homelessness in Scottsdale, and what role should the city play in expanding access to affordable housing?

Preventing homelessness is the most cost-effective and morally-appropriate first choice.  As little as $100 per month added cost can lead to homelessness. Since 2020, I have volunteered at one of the city’s many food programs. These and utility- and rent- assist programs help keep people housed. 

Scottsdale police and human services staff are trained to identify and assist those experiencing homelessness and help transition these people into housing and find employment.  Several successful bridge programs have been cut since 2025.  I’d like to see these grant-funded programs come back.

Housing, in the right places, is critical for our workforce.  Strategic approvals of multifamily projects near employment and transportation and negotiating codes that deliver lower utility costs and a nice place to live does lower the overall cost of living.  I also negotiated the first apartment complex with workforce housing-designated units. 

I’m very focused on making home ownership in Scottsdale more accessible.  Short Term Rental operators were outcompeting our residents while adding to the City’s operational costs.  As a Council, we passed some of the strictest STR ordinances and enforcement.  Finally, we’re seeing some of those homes convert to long-term rentals or simply for sale.  I’ve also successfully negotiated for condo and townhomes approvals, versus apartments.

On the legal side, the City of Scottsdale participated in a US Supreme Court case that upheld our right to prohibit non-recreational camping.  Scottsdale needs to help those experiencing homelessness but not allow our parks to become encampments.

 

10. If elected, what is the single most important thing you want to accomplish during your term, and how would you measure success?

Deliver a headline in 2027 that reads, “Scottsdale Thrives; Unimpacted by Reductions in its allotment of Colorado River water”

 

11. What is your favorite thing about the city?

The people, the open spaces, and wildlife and how I get to enjoy all three every day.

 

12. Tell us about the best restaurant, bar, shop or spot that not enough people know about.

Coffee is my favorite meal.  I love locally owned Inner Circle Café as well as Lil’ Snitch at Pinnacle Peak and Pima.  I buy my produce at Old Town Scottsdale Farmer’s Market and frequently shop at Sphinx Date Co. and Old Town’s many shops.

 

13. You are seeking a third and final term, and your record includes passage of Proposition 420 protecting the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the 2019 bond. What do you consider the most important unfinished business from your time on the council, and why does completing it require another term?

Securing Scottsdale’s water future; ensuring proper implementation of the Prop 490 monies starting with reinvestment in the oldest parks in the Indian Bend Wash; protecting our Preserve and ensuring completion of the vital Rio Verde Wildlife Crossing; controlling the short-term rental problems and protecting our neighborhoods; ensuring the viability of Old Town and always, always supporting our public safety partners. I also think that it’s critical we respect our residents and return Public Comment to the beginning of our Council meetings.

 

14. You have been one of the council’s most consistent voices on conservation and sustainability. Given the severity of the Colorado River water crisis, do you believe the current council has done enough to prepare Scottsdale for a future with significantly less water, and what would you push to do differently in a third term?

Arizona’s water success story is based in bi-partisan, data-driven policies.  The potential for a secure water future is outlined in the Strategic Plan and 70% of our residents surveyed support these priorities.  Not surprisingly, water is a top concern of Scottsdale and Arizona residents. 

Political interference undermines our reputation, economy, and will end up increasing costs for residents.  Sowing distrust in Scottsdale’s state-of-the art water treatment campus is the antithesis of leadership.

Scottsdale and Arizona’s environment is our economy.  We have the resources to reduce urban heat and conserve more land in order to keep tourists coming, air clean, and maintain the healthy lifestyle we enjoy every day.  Since 2025, the Council set Scottsdale back.  I plan to restore this focus and deliver results.