
Green represents the best performing precincts for Prop 491, and pink represents the worst performing precincts.
Scottsdale’s recent elections were interesting ones, with an incumbent mayor losing and two incumbent councilmembers losing their bids for re-election. And there was one (well, two) very clear winners in this election: Propositions 490 and 491.
As a reminder, Proposition 490 served as an extension of the existing 0.2% sales tax which was expiring this year, reducing it to 0.15% and allocating the future funds to parks maintenance amongst other needs. Proposition 491 served to increase a very restrictive spending cap from Arizona state law in 1980 to offer more flexibility in spending.
Both of them passed easily: 490 garnered a 58% Yes vote and 491 got over 66% of the vote. Both results would be considered sailing towards victory, but Proposition 490 had much more of a visible opposition force campaigning against it, so 490’s underperformance is understandable.
Much like the mayoral race, the partisan breakdowns of the city definitely seemed to predict performance. For 491, the performance was extremely stark as the top 10% underperforming precincts were almost entirely precisely placed in the Republican-stronghold just north and northeast of the bend in the Loop 101, and all outperforming precincts were in more Democrat-leaning areas around McDonald Drive and south. 490’s performance was a bit less centralized, with outperforming precincts up towards Shea Blvd with one much further north, and underperforming precincts a bit more spread out but still all north of Shea.

Green represents the best performing precincts for Prop 490, and pink represents the worst performing precincts.
491 outperformed 490 in every single precinct with margins ranging from 5% to nearly 13%. The degree of outperformance or underperformance didn’t follow any trends: precincts in both camps were spread around the city.
One could surmise that the political party takes on this subject, with Republicans more in opposition and Democrats largely in favor, helped tip the scales to some degree. But ultimately, people want well-maintained parks and largely understood that the draconian limits on spending were counterproductive, and those sentiments carried the day.