Solange Whitehead Shows What Grace in Politics Looks Like

By Ronald Sampson

A Gracious Note in a Rough Week

Scottsdale just finished one of the more contentious council cycles in recent memory. There were attack ads, super PAC spending, a viral toilet-to-tap video and a debate where candidates traded barbs on stage. So when Councilwoman Solange Whitehead took to Facebook after Election Day, one could have reasonably expected more of the same.

Instead, she offered congratulations to Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Barry Graham on their wins, and a heartfelt thank you to Raoul Zubia. She admitted she barely knew Zubia before the campaign, that she knows him now, and that she has the utmost respect for him. Then she thanked the whole community, “from South to the tippy north,” for engaging and voting.

Why It Matters

Whitehead had every reason to take a victory lap. She won her seat outright in July, and she spent months as a target of the very people she was now congratulating. Ugenti-Rita’s campaign went after her over water policy and development. Gracious words cost nothing on paper, but they cost a lot politically when the wounds are fresh.

That is what makes this worth noting. Civility is easy when everybody agrees. It is a choice when the campaign got personal, and she made it publicly, within days.

A Standard Worth Copying

The response from the community was telling. One commenter called her a class act and said Scottsdale is lucky to have her regardless of one’s position. That is the correct read. You do not have to agree with Whitehead on growth, water or Axon to recognize that this is how public servants should behave.

Scottsdale’s next council will have real disagreements to work through. The tone gets set early, and a post like this helps. Whitehead, Graham and Ugenti-Rita will share a dais in January, and they will need to govern together on the same hard issues they fought over.

In a contentious time, more of this would do the whole city good.