How Not to Lose: David Ortega Does No Favors for His Legacy

by Ronald Sampson Many times history won’t judge you based on how you act after you win, but how you react to a loss. It’s easy to be gracious after a victory, but after a bitter, grueling effort that results in an unfortunate outcome, do you offer best wishes for your opponent or do you claim malfeasance and attempt to … Read More

This is How You Do It: Kudos to Scottsdale’s Leadership

By Alexander Lomax When the Scottsdale City Council and Mayor met last Thursday, in most ways it was a normal, even boring meeting. There were a few nominees for boards that needed to be voted on, there were some budgeting and zoning items that were agreed to by consent. But in some ways it was very different. That meeting will … Read More

Tearing Apart the Data of the Scottsdale Elections: City Council

In our series where we break down the election results from Scottsdale, we have already looked at the mayoral race as well as the ballot propositions. For our third of three pieces, we will take a look at the Scottsdale City Council races, typified by major upheaval as both incumbents on the November ballot were ousted (after newcomer Jan Dubauskas … Read More

Tearing Apart the Data of the Scottsdale Elections: the Mayoral Race

It was a truly interesting election season in Scottsdale this year, as incumbent Mayor Dave Ortega was ousted by a significant margin, the city council will welcome three new members, and two propositions won by wide margins. Some of these items are related and some are indicative of wider trends within the city’s electorate. In this three-part series we get … Read More

Scottsdale Mayoral Campaign Update: Where Do the Candidates Stand?

The Scottsdale Mayoral run-off between Mayor David Ortega and Lisa Borowsky is entering its final stages, and there are a number of things we can glean from the final stretch. First, the last campaign finance reports of note have been released, and that offers crucial insight. Q3 was a very strong fundraising quarter for Mayor Ortega, raising $113K and leaving … Read More

Guest Editorial: Get Set to Vote!

By Councilmember Solange Whitehead Arizona’s election officially kicks off this week and there is a lot at stake Let’s remember: The truth matters, real leaders solve problems, and peddlers of misinformation never represent the public’s best interests. Mayor Dave Ortega Gets My Endorsement People who get a lot done often make success look effortless and that sums up the story … Read More

BREAKING NEWS: They’re Back… 

A movie phrase made famous by Poltergeist apparently is the long rumored reality as Axon is purportedly readying to return its immensely unpopular apartment plan to Scottsdale decision-making dais. And in the “you can’t make this up” category, they are apparently targeting Planning Commission and City Council hearings immediately after the election on November 13th and November 19th.  Too cute by half, but more … Read More

Guest Editorial: Time to Vote

By Councilwoman Betty Janik I urge you to re-elect Mayor Dave Ortega for a second term on Scottsdale City Council. Much has been accomplished in his first term.  He was instrumental in passing the General Plan, he has been the regional leader in controlling short term rentals, he has kept city finances in the black while increasing reserves and reducing … Read More

Early Election Results: Potential Shocks, Numerous Surprises

By Alexander Lomax The initial primary results have come in, and at the time of writing there are still a few questions but also a number of answers. There were a couple shocks, some more surprises, and increased clarity as to how the November elections will shake out. First off, Republican turnout was robust both locally and throughout the county; … Read More