Remembering Wayne Ecton, the Councilman Who Helped Transform North Scottsdale

Wayne Ecton has died. The former Scottsdale city councilman spent eight years on the dais. Moreover, he spent decades more serving this city in quieter roles. Colleagues knew him as a relentless volunteer long after his final term ended.

His story started far from Arizona. Ecton grew up in Winchester, Kentucky, working in his father’s restaurant from age ten. However, the road ran through a long corporate finance career and years overseas before it reached Scottsdale. He and his wife Martha retired here for the weather and stayed for the community.

A Campaign With One Condition

Ecton first served as president of his homeowners association. Then he decided to run for City Council. He asked Martha to manage the campaign, and she agreed with a single condition. Furthermore, that condition was specific. He had to fight for a library in north Scottsdale.

Martha had spent years as Alcoa’s research librarian. Consequently, the demand was not casual. It was a career’s worth of conviction attached to a ballot.

The Appaloosa Library Is the Answer

Appaloosa Library opened in 2009 as the third branch of the Scottsdale Public Library. It sits in north Scottsdale, exactly where Martha asked. Meanwhile, thousands of residents have used it without ever knowing the backstory.

Few campaign promises produce an actual building. This one did.

He Treated the Job as Full Time

Ecton described council service in plain terms. In his view, doing the work properly made it a full-time job. He visited residents at home and at their businesses. Additionally, he sat with department heads, walked development sites, and showed up at community meetings.

Political consultants nicknamed him the “Kentucky Colonel” for his drawl and white goatee. Nevertheless, the folksy manner covered a career financial executive who read the numbers closely. That combination earned respect even from people who disagreed with him.

Service Did Not End With His Term

He later served on the Public Art Advisory Committee. In addition, he worked with the Chamber of Commerce and the Scottsdale Downtown Economic Vitality Coalition. Ecton also lent his name to bond measures and to candidates he believed in.

Scottsdale politics has grown louder since he left office. Meanwhile, the model he represented has grown rarer. He was a retiree who read the agenda, took the meetings, and answered the phone.

A Debt Worth Acknowledging

Wayne and Martha were married 57 years. She died in 2023. Together, they left this city something permanent and genuinely useful.

Go check out a book in north Scottsdale. In fact, that is probably the tribute he would want most.