By Ronald Sampson
We’ve all seen this movie before in Scottsdale: when any sort of tax is mentioned in any capacity, so-called conservatives come out of the woodwork and tell you about how the money will be wasted, how it’s unnecessary, etc. Time and time again, regardless of the merits of the tax, lobbyists set the messaging and political candidates, usually outsiders not currently in office, circle the wagons and parrot the messaging.
It’s a common theme throughout the years, and this year it’s with Proposition 490, Scottsdale’s parks maintenance and upkeep ballot initiative. And again, it’s primarily outsiders who want to win public office (save one councilman) who are the loudest.
Well I’ve got a dirty little secret for you…just between us.
These “conservatives” want Prop 490 to pass. Their opposition is nothing but phony kabuki theater.
Why? Because if it doesn’t, the needs won’t magically disappear. If it doesn’t, then they will need to make very, very difficult decisions if they get in office. Either they let the parks deteriorate and take the blame for their opposition, they cut from some other budget to prevent that and take the blame, or they raise taxes and take the blame. Because opposing something is far easier than solving a problem.
Even more absurd is the fact that Scottsdale has amongst the lowest taxes in the Valley, which won’t change at all if Prop 490 passes. Additionally, it was not one but two large tax hikes that made possible the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, one of the city’s great achievements, but unlike that Prop 490’s has preserve, parks and public safety benefits that will reap benefits across the city.
And let’s be clear: when you’re an outsider that wants to beat an incumbent and win elected office, you have to make the case that things are going in the wrong direction. Being happy with the current direction of a jurisdiction means that you’re unlikely to vote for change, so a politician’s job is to convince you that the jurisdiction is going to hell in a handbasket, regardless of whether or not it is. Their job is to convince you that the sky is green.
Scottsdale isn’t perfect, no city is. But it’s telling that many Republicans think that the city is going in the wrong direction; it’s hard to find any hard metrics that imply as such unless you were highly selective, but it doesn’t matter. The sky is obviously green. The politicians are telling you as such.
And were said politicians get elected, the sky will magically be blue again in 2025, and Scottsdale will magically be the best city in America again. Just like if Proposition 490 were to pass by a wide margin, their opposition will magically disappear, and they will breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the city is better off and their life will be much easier. The sky was always blue, silly!
So when politicians tell you that an actual decrease in taxes is a tax raise, they hope you don’t actually believe it, just that they’re able to tap into enough misplaced anger to get elected. The sky is blue, Scottsdale is in a very good place, and Proposition 490 will be a significant net positive for the city.