By Jason Rose I ran my first successful campaign in Scottsdale in 1994. Two years later I consulted on the campaign that elected the city’s first female mayor, Sam Campana. Ever since I have been heavily involved in the Scottsdale political scene leading elections for other mayors, hockey arenas and bonds to fund new infrastructure. I offer these credentials not … Read More
Local Election Recap: Money Didn’t Win in Scottsdale (and What Else We Learned)
Money is traditionally a significant determinant of a political campaign’s success, but as we are prone to saying, that alone doesn’t make or break an election; all the money in the world won’t matter if you don’t use it well, or your message doesn’t resonate. This lesson was as pronounced as it could possibly be in last week’s Scottsdale City … Read More
Scottsdale City Council Race: the YIMBY vs NIMBY Battle Lines are Drawn
The first election is thankfully right around the corner, so we will get a reprieve from the political ads for a brief few moments. But in the meantime, partially lost in the shuffle of the competitive primaries in Arizona is the Scottsdale City Council race. And some significant battle lines are being drawn around the issue of development. Indeed, the … Read More
How Does the Money Race Look for Scottsdale City Council Candidates?
The August election is almost within sight, and Q2 campaign finance reports were due on July 15th, giving us more insight as to how each of the candidates is doing in the vital money race. So how do the candidates stack up as we approach the election? We will start at the bottom, and two candidates are in very precarious … Read More
Guest Editorial: My Endorsements for City Council
By Councilwoman Betty Janik I am pleased to endorse Barry Graham for a first term on Scottsdale City Council. Barry has given generously of his time, serving on several boards and commissions, often as chairman. His experience on the Transportation Commission, the Building Advisory Appeals Board, and most recently the Planning Commission, are an asset to City Council. He is … Read More
Which Scottsdale City Council Candidate Has the Best Signs?
Street signs are perhaps the most obnoxious, useless and expensive form of political advertising around. As many politicos often say, “Signs don’t vote”. So why do we see so many of them every year? Because no one wants to be the one candidate without any signs. However in a politically contentious and highly charged atmosphere as we currently have, we … Read More
Scottsdale Candidates Participate in Candidate Forum: Who Nailed It?
Election season is heating up, and Scottsdale will be electing three Councilmembers to help guide the city. Our elected officials will face numerous critically important issues in their approach to leadership, and as such we were pleased to find that the Scottsdale Independent put all of the candidates on the record regarding their views of some of them. You can … Read More
The NIMBY’s Actually Lost a Battle in Scottsdale: How Positive of a Sign Is This?
We have griped quite a bit about the Council of No in Scottsdale and the sacrifice of reasonable growth for the holy grail of perfect developments; letting perfect be the enemy of good, in essence. So imagine our very deep surprise when a mixed-use development passed through the Council recently! What looks to be an intriguing mixed-use project near Marshall … Read More
The Scottsdale City Council 2022 Race is Now Set: How Does It Look?
As with every campaign, it’s easy to say that you’re running for office; you can even file some paperwork to make it official. However actually getting on the ballot is a very different matter, involving the collection of a significant number of signatures from voters. Since the signature deadline has now passed, unless a candidate’s signatures are challenged we have … 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