Note: this post has been edited to reflect that Tammy Caputi changed her voter registration to Independent in 2018, and that Jason Alexander is a social media advisor for her, not a political advisor. The fallout from Scottsdale Unified School District’s Superintendent Scott Menzel and his “woke” comments from a 2019 interview have recently stolen a lot of oxygen from … Read More
How the Scottsdale / Paradise Valley Legislative Races Played Out
At the time of writing this on Sunday night, not every race is completely certain at this point. One thing that is for certain however is that the best case scenario for Republicans did not work out, and we see that playing out in some of the Scottsdale area races rather prominently. As a reminder, the city of Scottsdale is … Read More
Guest Editorial: Why is Joseph Chaplik Insistent on Embarrassing Himself?
By Alexander Lomax I certainly understand the strategy; be as loud as you can, take risks with specious allegations, and attempt to become a darling of your political party. Joseph Chaplik has gone all in on this approach during his young political career as a two-term state Representative, and could prove to be even more successful if his ambition to … Read More
Scottsdale Representative Joseph Chaplik Earns Gov. Ducey’s First Veto of the Year: Is He Punching Out of His Weight Class?
Freshman state legislator Joseph Chaplik, who represents the old legislative district 23 (covering most of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills) is no stranger to attention. In fact, it often looks like he actively seeks it out. So when he authored an elections bill into a very friendly hopper, it appeared as though he might have a chance to loudly tout a … Read More
Scottsdale City Council Living Up to Promises and Doing What the State Won’t: Regulating Short-Term Rentals
We have recently written about the town of Paradise Valley’s attempts to curb short-term rentals (STRs) in the face of inaction by our state government. Now Scottsdale is getting in on those attempts in the fight for preservation of a high quality of life. The Scottsdale City Council recently unanimously voted to close loopholes in STR laws in the city, … Read More
Scottsdale Votes Yes on Proposition 463
As you are likely aware, yesterday was Election Day, and aside from some big-ticket bellwether races across the country, Scottsdale cast its vote for or against the Scottsdale General Plan 2035, or Proposition 463. While votes are left to count, it appears to be on its way to victory. After the first batch of votes counted, which typically includes nearly … Read More
This Week in Scottsdale COVID Successes (SUSD) and Failures (Rep. Joseph Chaplik)
We think that we can safely say that you are sick of COVID. Everyone is. We all just want to be done with this, to not hear about friends and family falling ill, and for life to return back to a healthier normal. The quest towards this end has repeatedly led to both winners and losers, but we have unusually … Read More