By Betty Janik The first 6 months of the new Scottsdale City Council have been tumultuous with no end in sight. With a shift in the majority, expectations were for smooth sailing ahead. Instead, we have witnessed internal power struggles, jealousy, and even legal charges filed with the county attorney by council members against each other. Unfortunately, this is consistent … Read More
Scottsdale Budget Concerns: Political Theater or Fiscal Reality?
By Ronald Sampson It has been quite the turbulent first half of the first year for Scottsdale’s new mayor and newest iteration of city council, and somehow the hits keep coming for this crew, with the latest point of contention being fiscal. Scottsdale’s 2025-26 budget has sparked significant controversy despite its superficial appearance of fiscal responsibility. While city officials tout … Read More
Chaos with the Arizona Democratic Party Comes to a Head: The Chairman is Ousted
It has been a brutally bad half year for the new Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP), Robert Branscomb. He has faced a near-total party revolt as all statewide elected officials came out and publicly criticized him after he broke the unwritten rule of airing dirty laundry (read our last piece here). Well that was not about to be … Read More
An AP&G Exclusive: An Interview with Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne
Superintendent, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. Education is always a hot-button subject in our state and so it’s an honor to get to hear from the person at the very top of our educational system. You’ve had a long career in Arizona public service; what first motivated you … Read More
Lisa Borowsky Keeps Being Snubbed by Republicans. What’s Up with That?
By Ronald Sampson We are officially past the halfway point of the first year of Lisa Borowsky’s time as the Mayor of Scottsdale, which is enough time to reflect on how things have been going. The verdict? It’s been tough…very tough. But the obstacles haven’t come from where one would think. The obstacles are internal ones. The latest obstacle came … Read More
Guest Editorial: Doing My Job Working For You
By Councilmember Barry Graham
Governor Hobbs Breaks Records with Veto Pen; Is This the Sum Total of Her Abilities?
Being a Democratic governor with a Republican-controlled state House and Senate is never an easy proposition, and Governor Katie Hobbs has found this out firsthand. Unable to control the agenda, she has mostly been relegated to one act of power: the veto pen. Now that the legislative session is over, we know how often she has used that power this … Read More
Guest Editorial: This 4th of July
By Councilwoman Solange Whitehead These days, it can feel like the world wants us all to pick a side. But let’s face it—that hurts Scottsdale and our nation. Debating issues is as American as apple pie, and speaking freely is our fundamental right. We can’t back down during these scary times. Instead, we must continue to befriend and care about … Read More
Guest Editorial: What Scottsdale should say to Axon
Dear Friends: Over the weekend the Scottsdale Progress printed my opinion piece about Axon. If you didn’t get to see it in the paper, I have reprinted it for you below: Scottsdale is a spectacular city. It was so long before Axon. It will be long after Axon is gone. We can both applaud a local company’s success over the past many … Read More
AP&G Exclusive: An Interview with Former State Senator Christine Marsh
Hi Christine, thank you so much for your time. Your story has been an interesting one; a former Arizona Teacher of the Year turned politician/public servant. For those who are unaware, you first ran for office in 2018, the year of the massive Red for Ed protests in the state. Was there one single catalyst or event that first prompted … Read More