By Alexander Lomax
Photo Credit: YourValley.net
In a bit of a surprise move, Mayor Lisa Borowsky has called a special City Council meeting for January 7 to discuss creating a Downtown Task Force focused on Old Town Scottsdale. According to a letter to the Old Town business community, the proposed task force would “evaluate and refine the Downtown Character Area Plan and current marketing efforts”, with presentations from a historian, tourism consultant, and business stakeholders.
The timing is curious. Just weeks ago, the council deadlocked on a marketing contract with the James Agency that would have promoted Old Town, leaving approximately $1.3 million in bed tax revenue unused while Old Town businesses wonder who’s advocating for their interests. As Councilwoman Maryann McAllen observed, the task force proposal appears to be a direct response to that controversial impasse.
But is another government task force really what Old Town needs right now? Or is this conveniently timed political theater designed to distract from what’s been an extraordinarily contentious year at Scottsdale City Hall?
Let’s examine the pattern. Since taking office in 2025, the conservative-majority council has generated one firestorm after another. In January, they repealed the city’s sustainability plan that took three years and $2.2 million to create. In February, they voted 5-2 to defund the city’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion despite hours of passionate public testimony against it. In December, they voted 4-3 to eliminate one of two public comment periods at council meetings, moving the remaining period to the end of meetings when fewer citizens can participate.
Former Mayor David Ortega suggested that the council is “seldom at City Hall”, while Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield described unprecedented “animosity” and “vitriol” in her 10 years on council. Three council members even reported Mayor Borowsky to county investigators over alleged campaign finance violations related to a parking garage dispute, what became known as “Parkingate.”
Against this backdrop of controversy, dysfunction, and genuine animosity among elected officials, suddenly we need a task force to study Old Town? It’s hard not to see this as a convenient pivot from the chaos. Creating a task force allows the council to look productive and business-friendly without actually committing resources or making hard decisions about Old Town’s future.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Old Town doesn’t lack for plans, character studies, or visioning documents. What it lacks is political consensus and follow-through. The council just couldn’t agree on a marketing contract because of cost concerns and political divisions. If they can’t fund basic marketing, what makes anyone think they’ll implement whatever recommendations a task force produces?
Old Town business owners don’t need more meetings or studies. They need a functional city council that can agree on priorities, fund marketing consistently, and stop generating negative headlines that make Scottsdale look like a political circus rather than a premier destination. They need leaders focused on economic development rather than culture war battles over DEI offices and sustainability plans.
The real question isn’t whether Old Town needs a task force. It’s whether the City Council is capable of governing effectively enough to act on whatever recommendations emerge. or whether this is just another distraction from a contentious, chaotic year that’s seen Scottsdale’s reputation suffer while elected officials fight amongst themselves.