By Ignacio del Valle, Scottsdale resident The opinion pages have been busy this election — and the pattern is impossible to ignore. Residents who support Barry Graham and Michelle Ugenti-Rita — or the many who have doubts about Raoul Zubia — are focusing on the issues: the connection between high-density apartments and water security, short-term rentals, neighborhood safety, the Bar … Read More
Op-Ed: Barry Graham Endorses Election Deniers. Nobody Has Held Him Accountable
By John Ainley Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol police officer who was beaten by January 6th insurrectionists, will be in Maricopa County later this week. This reminded me of Barry Graham’s endorsement of Alexander Kolodin for Arizona Secretary of State. Kolodin was directly involved in efforts challenging Arizona’s 2020 election results. He served as local counsel in Sidney Powell’s … Read More
Op-Ed: Barry Graham Is A Hypocrite. Bought & Paid For By Developers
By Bobby “Rob” Birmingham Barry Graham and his minions have spent weeks repeatedly criticizing Raoul Zubia over support from the Realtor Association. Their social media trolls continue to spread lies and disinformation about Realtors. Ironically, Graham’s own campaign finance reports show nearly $50,000 in contributions from people tied to real estate, development, property management, and related business interests. Want the receipts? … Read More
Does Barry Graham Have a Conflict of Interest, Just Bad Optics? Or Both?
By John Nelson Councilmember Barry Graham’s vote for the controversial Brown Avenue parking garage raises legitimate questions about the appearance of a conflict of interest. In 2019, Legacy Gallery owner Jinger Richardson was specifically identified among gallery owners who had pushed City Hall to address downtown parking shortages. Fast forward to April 14, 2026. Graham voted to approve a $3.8 million first-phase … Read More
Scottsdale Taxpayers Deserve the Record, Not the Spin
By Tom Kube Councilwoman Solange Whitehead used a Scottsdale Independent column to claim Councilman Barry Graham “killed” a $250 million water-recycling program and would eventually send costs to complete the program soaring. She voted for the budget herself, then closed by urging a vote for Raoul Zubia. Anyone who watched the meeting knows the city is waiting on updated environmental … Read More
Raoul Zubia Is Being Defined, Whether He Notices or Not
By Miles Cavanaugh Somebody Fills the Silence Every candidate gets defined by someone. The only real question is who gets there first. Right now, for Raoul Zubia, that’s Barry Graham’s coalition, and not necessarily because anyone cornered the market on him unfairly. It’s because Zubia hasn’t shown up with a competing version of his own. The story circulating about him, … Read More
What Listening Looks Like — and What It Doesn’t
By Councilwoman Jan Dubauskas Your Council majority listens to you, and as a result Scottsdale is doing more with less. We are lowering tax rates, catching up on deferred maintenance, ending cost overruns, accelerating capital projects, and fully funding public safety. We are getting back to core services. Our majority also stopped asking residents to fund ideological pet programs, stopped … Read More
Guest Editorial: Where Council Candidates Stand on Short-Term Rentals Matters
By Kristian Vial, Scottsdale resident I have lived in South Scottsdale for many years. One issue that continues to concern me is what short-term rentals have done to our neighborhoods. Apparently, the city has roughly 4,000 of them, with many houses now are run like mini-motels, with noise, trash, and trouble, including underage drinking and violence reported in the news. … Read More
Guest Editorial: Graham And His Allies Are Misleading Voters
By Raoul Zubia In an August 7th op-ed on this very website, Barry Graham attacked me over a $5,000 contribution from Axon President Josh Isner. The claim was that I said I hadn’t received contributions from Axon in a June 29th forum, and then two days later I received a donation from Mr. Isner. Yesterday, a new piece from a … Read More