The year in politics ended as it began: \u201cthe bloc\u201d domination.<\/p>\n
During Scottsdale City Council\u2019s last scheduled meeting of 2025, another controversial move was crammed through by council members Barry Graham, Kathy Littlefield, Jan Dubauskas and Adam Kwasman.<\/p>\n
Veteran Councilwoman Solange Whitehead previously called those four \u201cthe bloc,\u201d sneering at what she called bullying tactics to push through their agenda.<\/p>\n
During the meeting that concluded a turbulent year, Whitehead took it a step further, accusing the power-wielding majority of \u201cmucking around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am embarrassed by this council,\u201d Whitehead proclaimed.<\/p>\n
Whitehead and Graham will be stepping up reelection campaigns in the coming months.<\/p>\n
At the Dec. 2 meeting, Graham laughed off suggestions of a conspiracy in proposed changes to council rules, notably revising the city\u2019s long-standing public comments policy.<\/p>\n
Kwasman sarcastically stated, \u201cI made a huge mistake in admitting to the news I participated in the process \u2013 I\u2019m not the only one, the charter officers asked us all for input.”<\/p>\n
A laughing Graham chimed in to his colleague, \u201cSo you weren\u2019t the mastermind behind this?\u201d<\/p>\n
With a shrug, Graham then downplayed the changes: \u201cWe are not here to take away public comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, in comparison with Fountain Hills, which chopped down the flaming bush of non-agendized public comments, Scottsdale City Council\u2019s actions are more of a \u201cpruning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even so, the changes were answered by prune faces of disgust, both from elected officials on the losing end of the vote and several public commenters.<\/p>\n
The change that drew the most scrutiny, both before and after being passed by a 4-3 vote \u2013 \u201cthe bloc\u201d for, Borowsky, Whitehead and Maryann McAllen opposed:<\/p>\n
Instead of two \u201copen\u201d public comment periods, at the beginning and end of meetings, \u201cthere will be only one public comment period (non-agendized public comment) which takes place towards the end of a regular meeting instead of towards the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Councilwoman Tammy Caputi, who is expected to run for reelection next year, did not speak at the Dec. 2 meeting.<\/p>\n
However, two days later she sent out a mass email titled \u201cCouncil Bloc Censors Residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday night Councilors Graham, Dubauskas, Kwasman and Littlefield censored the residents,\u201d Caputi insisted.<\/p>\n
Public comments<\/strong><\/p>\n The Dec. 2 meeting began, as hundreds of Scottsdale City Council meetings before it have, with public comment \u201con non-agendized items that are within the Council\u2019s jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n A few people reminded Council that, one year earlier, Scottsdale\u2019s first \u201cSustainability Plan\u201d was passed \u2013 only to be overturned a month later, when Kwasman and Dubauskas took office, swinging the political landscape from \u201cliberal-leaning\u201d to \u201cconservative-heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with Arizona law, Scottsdale elections are \u201cnonpartisan,\u201d but Kwasman and Dubauskas received strong Republican support \u2013 as did Mayor Lisa Borowsky.<\/p>\n Following the sustainability plan repeal protestors, former Councilwoman Linda Milhaven, who failed in a 2024 run for mayor, congratulated those who approved the Nov. 18 Axon deal.<\/p>\n She accused Littlefield, Graham and Dubauskas — who opposed the deal — of twisting the truth.<\/p>\n \u201cYou completely misrepresent what\u2019s going on here,\u201d Milhaven said. \u201cYou took away the people\u2019s vote, you forced Axon to go to the Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Yvonne Cahill, who briefly was on Borowsky\u2019s staff, also offered non-agendized public comment. She slammed the bloc-led change of a North Scottsdale intersection from a state-funded roundabout to a signalized intersection with undetermined funding.<\/p>\n Millions of dollars in ncreased costs, she claimed, \u201cwere deliberately hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope in the new year,\u201d Cahill concluded, \u201cthe council will be more transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n In all, a half dozen citizens spoke at the beginning of the meeting.<\/p>\n Starting in January, those desiring to express general opinions on items not on the agenda will have to wait until the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n Running time of the Dec. 2 meeting: Five hours.<\/p>\n \u00a0Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n Following the public comment period and consent agenda items, which were considered as a whole without individual discussion, Borowsky moved on to agenda item 16, \u201cProposed Amendments to the Rules of Council Procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the vote, more public comment was taken, this time on the \u201cagendized item.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Sutton, who offers critique at nearly every meeting, called the moves to change public comment procedure \u201crhetorical political suicide one council member has constructed that could blow up the council.\u201d<\/p>\n He called out Kwasman for \u201cdeliberately lying to manipulate Scottsdale residents.\u201d<\/p>\n Up next was Raoul Zubia, who plans a run for council next year. He said the proposed moves \u201ccreate more distance between residents and council.\u201d<\/p>\n Milhaven and Cahill returned to the microphone, echoing criticism of the proposed changes to public comment.<\/p>\n Milhaven was not gentle in her criticism, though her conclusion was politely framed: \u201cPlease do not limit public participation.\u201d<\/p>\n Some might find irony in the idea that, in an effort to \u201cstreamline\u201d meetings, council members then spent two and a half hours hashing out what changes would be made.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is getting to be a comedy of errors,\u201d Whitehead said, late in the long meeting.<\/p>\n According to a memo from Luis Santaella, the interim city attorney, the proposed changes were to \u201cImprove transparency, civility, decorum and public participation\u201d and \u201cstreamline council operations and agenda management.<\/p>\n \u201cThese updates,\u201d Santaella added, \u201care based on feedback from councilmembers and city staff and are intended to make our meetings more efficient, civil, and legally sound.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point in the lengthy, sidetracking debate, Graham said, \u201cresidents already tell us \u2026 they don\u2019t feel respected by many decisions that have been made by council.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitehead would say for good reason \u2013 she decried the idea of getting rid of the beginning-of-meetings public comment period.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have tonight eliminated the ability for most people in the city of Scottsdale to come to City Council meetings and speak,\u201d Whitehead cried out, facing \u2013 again \u2013 the losing end of a key vote.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a city that has been driven by resident priorities. Putting them last and all this mucking around is simply an effort to shut down people that oppose some of the actions of this council.\u201d<\/p>\n Kwasman said he was \u201ceyerolling\u201d Whitehead\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell who\u2019s running for office,\u201d Kwasman added, \u201cwhen you make these dramatic statements about \u2018democracy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Borowsky blast<\/strong><\/p>\n Hours after the Dec. 2 meeting that changed City Council\u2019s public comment procedure, Mayor Lisa Borowsky sent out an email blast titled \u201cBait-and-Switch: How the Scottsdale City Council majority betrayed the public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the meeting, she said, \u201cMy office received an overwhelming number of emails from our constituents demanding public comment at council meetings not be infringed upon.\u201d<\/p>\n She said council members Barry Graham, Kathy Littlefield and Jan Dubauskas \u201call swore not to reduce public comment \u2026 they are hoping you will swallow their \u2018bait-and-switch\u2019 that they actually expanded public comment time.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor called out a \u201cgame of adding two public comment speakers while depriving all speakers of a reasonable and predictable opportunity to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n The three representatives named above and Adam Kwasman voted to put non-agendized public comment at the end of meetings.<\/p>\n If that policy was in place Dec. 2, Borowsky noted, \u201cthose wishing to address the council would have had to wait until 10 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The year in politics ended as it began: \u201cthe bloc\u201d domination. 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