Scottsdale Voters Deserve Accountability, Not Special Interests

Scottsdale voters want candidates who answer to them—not special interests. With three candidates remaining for two City Council seats, I am increasingly concerned that residents are not the top priority for one of them.

At a June candidate forum, Raoul Zubia assured voters that his campaign finance reports would show “there’s nothing that says Axon on it.” Two days later he accepted a $5,000 check from Axon President Josh Isner. Isner was the public face of Axon’s apartment development team that pushed the “Axon Bill” through the legislature that effectively nullified Scottsdale’s 26,000-signature referendum.

Referendums are protected in Arizona’s constitution. To my knowledge, the legislature has never invalidated one. How did Mr. Zubia view the Axon Bill? At the same forum he appeared to blame residents, saying “Axon had to go around everybody, and go to the state and get the law passed so they could move forward.” By “everybody,” did he mean Scottsdale residents? By “move forward,” did he mean sidestepping a referendum?

The most troubling development followed within days. The Axon-linked “Better Together” PAC—funded entirely by a Washington, D.C. super PAC and run by an Axon lobbyist and former Axon spokesman—began spending tens of thousands of dollars promoting Zubia as the candidate of “common sense.”

Voters deserve councilmembers who put Scottsdale residents first—not shadowy PACs, not apartment developers, and not out-of-state interests rewriting our zoning. It is time for Mr. Zubia to reconsider his positions, his statements, and the financial support he has received from Axon and its affiliated entities. Until then, I will support Barry Graham and Michelle Ugenti-Rita.