By Ronald Sampson
Lamar Whitmer. Photo Credit: Scottsdale Progress
The Lamar Whitmer story was already one of the stranger chapters in recent Scottsdale political history. Now it has a price tag. Whitmer, Mayor Lisa Borowsky’s former chief of staff, has filed a notice of claim against the city, demanding $1.5 million to settle his grievances or face a lawsuit. It is the latest escalation in a saga that has exposed real tensions at the top of Scottsdale city government.
For those catching up: Whitmer was hired by Mayor Borowsky in October 2025 at an annual salary of $135,000. City Manager Greg Caton suspended him in January and terminated him on March 20, following an investigation that alleged a pattern of policy violations. Those included inappropriate remarks to city staff, unauthorized political activity, and misuse of his position for personal advantage. Whitmer and his attorney, Dennis Wilenchik, have disputed those findings sharply. APG has published the full notice of claim for those who want to read it in its own words.
The Core Legal Argument
The central thrust of Whitmer’s claim is jurisdictional. His attorney argues that Caton never had the authority to suspend, investigate, or fire the chief of staff in the first place. The notice points to the city charter and Whitmer’s offer letter, both of which state the chief of staff reports directly to the mayor, not the city manager. If that interpretation holds up, the entire investigation and termination process could be on shaky legal ground.
Caton’s Side of the Ledger
It would be a mistake to treat Caton’s position as simply a power grab. The city’s investigation found a documented pattern of conduct: inappropriate remarks to staff, activity that blurred political and official roles, and behavior the city characterized as insubordinate. A city manager responsible for the professional functioning of municipal government has a legitimate interest in addressing those issues, regardless of the reporting structure. Caton may well argue that the charter question is secondary to the core fact that city operations were being disrupted. That is not an unreasonable institutional concern. Whether his authority extended to the remedy he chose is a separate question, and one the courts will likely need to resolve.
What the $1.5 Million Covers
Whitmer’s settlement demand accounts for lost employment, damage to his professional reputation, emotional harm, and anticipated attorney’s fees. Whether that number reflects actual damages or negotiating posture is hard to say at this stage. Settlement demands in notice-of-claim filings routinely open high.
What This Means for Scottsdale
The deeper issue here is institutional. Scottsdale now has a public dispute over who actually controls the mayor’s office staff, a fired chief of staff alleging defamation, and a city manager named personally in potential litigation. That is a lot of noise for a city heading into a council election year. The Whitmer situation was already a distraction. A $1.5 million lawsuit threat makes it considerably harder to move past.
The city has not commented publicly on the notice. Stay tuned for more developments, as this is likely to get even more interesting.