Axon CEO Rick Smith. Photo Credit: Jim Poulin, Phoenix Business Journal
Any occasional readers of this blog knows our feelings about Axon; that it will bully its way into getting what it wants, with the most recent and egregious case being its massive apartment megacomplex plans in the heart of Scottsdale. And while we’d prefer not to have to continue writing about it, the company just keeps on pushing more and more, every subsequent action somehow becoming more and more audacious as it goes on.
So when Axon President Josh Isner went on Fox Business recently, we didn’t expect anything resembling decency, but even we were shocked by the brazen bullying.
In a brief three minute clip which you can find here, instead of spending his brief time on camera focused on the company and new corporate developments, he has the utter audacity to not just bring up its apartment megacomplex plan, but then goes on to call out Representative Joseph Chaplik by name for his efforts to block the legislature from taking away your ability to organize and vote on any potential zoning issue in the future.
Bullying a state representative on national television is a new low for Axon, and we should be surprised…but sadly, we’re not.
After all, this was the company that attempted to get Scottsdale Planning Commission Board Member Christian Serena fired, the company that had the unhinged audacity to call the higher ups at his place of work to inform them of his vote against its apartment plan.
Axon tried to ruin Serena’s career because he voted in a way that didn’t financially benefit itself. So while it is profoundly disappointing that it decided to go national with its bullying campaign, it’s also not the least bit surprising.
This is who it is…Scottsdale’s Bully. Any talk about wanting to stay in Scottsdale and being a good corporate neighbor was obviously BS; it’s willing to burn everything to the ground to get its way.
And what’s the only way to deal with a bully? You punch it in the mouth (metaphorically in this case, not literally).