In 1951, with a population of about 2,000, Scottsdale incorporated. Malcolm White was appointed its first mayor, and Scottsdale adopted “The West’s Most Western Town” as its official motto.<\/p>\n
Seventy-four years later, Scottsdale became \u2013 unofficially \u2013 \u201cThe West\u2019s Most Dramatic Town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scottsdale\u2019s 2025 was dominated by scenery-chewing, soliloquy-heavy Shakespearean dramas at City Hall, with new Mayor Lisa Borowsky often battling \u2013 rather than leading \u2013 City Council.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t just Drinkwater Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Heavy dramas were played out at Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board meetings. Indeed, audience members treated these as theatrical productions, cheering their heroes and booing villains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, cranes seemed to be everywhere, as massive development projects moved ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And there was even more backstage intrigue circling around Axon and the most hotly-debated plan in years.<\/p>\n
While the order of the following is open for debate, it\u2019s hard to argue against these as Scottsdale\u2019s top 25 stories of 2025:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
1. Axon \u2026 again<\/p>\n
Rick Smith, who founded Taser and grew it to the worldwide tech company Axon a few miles from his Chaparral High alma mater, followed the highs and lows of 2024 with another rollercoaster year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After his \u201cvisionary\u201d plan for 1,900 apartments and a hotel surrounding a new corporate headquarters was scheduled for a referendum, Smith and company successfully lobbied the state legislature, which crafted an Axon-friendly law.<\/p>\n
When that was challenged in court, Axon president Josh Isner struck a \u201crecess deal\u201d with Borowsky, leading to a deal for reduced apartments that City Council approved \u2013 albeit by a split vote.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. The Bloc flexes<\/p>\n
After being in the minority for two years,\u00a0 City Council members Barry Graham and Kathy Littlefield welcomed to the fold like-minded Adam Kwasman and Jan Dubauskas.<\/p>\n
The latter two, as well as fellow Republican-endorsed Borowsky, took office in January.<\/p>\n
Borowsky, however, found herself elbowed out of the way, as what veteran Councilwoman Solange Whitehead \u2013 suddenly in the minority \u2013 decried as \u201cthe bloc of four\u201d flexed its muscle.<\/p>\n
The bloc wavered on rare occasions, like Kwasman\u2019s defection in favor of the Axon vote.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, a conservative-leaning agenda was hammered through, with many 4-3 votes.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
3. DEI RIP<\/p>\n
With defunding of diversity programs on the Feb. 11 council agenda, Don Logan \u2013 the city\u2019s first diversity director and a victim of a racist mail bomb \u2013 passionately spoke out against the move.<\/p>\n
Others lined up to plead with Council not to make the move \u2026 to no avail.<\/p>\n
As a crowd jeered, Council voted to \u201cdiscontinue the use of city funds for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) systemic programming, to include the Office of DEI, DEI programming and trainings, and other initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in equality,\u201d Kwasman insisted, \u201cand equal justice under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andre Miller, a Mesa pastor and vice president of the Arizona chapter of the NAACP, wasn\u2019t buying that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a liar!\u201d he yelled at Kwasman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
4. Parkingate<\/p>\n
During the February meeting, Borowsky joined the bloc in voting away city DEI programs.<\/p>\n
Two months later, she said \u201cI was most shocked by a criminal complaint being filed by three of my colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cParkingate\u201d issue revolved around January meetings during which the new mayor pitched an alternative parking garage design created by David Hovey Jr. \u2013 a Borowsky campaign donor.<\/p>\n
After learning Dubaukas, Kwasman and Graham told county detectives they suspected Borowsky violated campaign and procurement laws, the mayor accused the three of \u201can attempted palace coup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tapes of the detective interviews revealed Dubauskas saying \u201cLisa\u2019s always the bitch\u201d and she and her colleagues were looking into \u201cvoting her out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though County Attorney Rachel Mitchell\u2019s office decided not to launch an investigation into the \u201cParkingate\u201d meetings, Borowsky threatened to sue the three council members for defamation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
5. Two schools to close<\/p>\n
Rumbling started in the fall.<\/p>\n
Like other public school districts around the Valley, Scottsdale Unified faces a declining enrollment trend with no end in sight.<\/p>\n
As funding is tied to enrollment, Superintendent Scott Menzel told the SUSD Governing Board the only way out of a budget hole: \u201cPotential cost savings of more than $5 million through repurposing of multiple school sites over the next two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Months of meetings featured anguished parents begging the board to look at other options.<\/p>\n
But, on Dec. 9, a 3-2 vote decided to \u201cclose and repurpose\u201d Pima Elementary and Echo Canyon K-8.<\/p>\n
The angst could spread to hundreds of other families, as the second phase of Menzel\u2019s plan targets more schools.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Sustainability Plan dumped<\/p>\n
Near the end of 2024, a liberal-leaning Scottsdale City Council proudly passed the city\u2019s first \u201cSustainability Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the first meeting of 2025, a new, conservative-heavy council trashed it.<\/p>\n
After reading a long statement about the flaws in a plan he voted against in December, concluding with \u201cour residents are smart and don\u2019t need us to tell them the right things to do,\u201d Graham made a motion to call the vote \u2013 essentially shutting down council debate.<\/p>\n
Borowsky, who said she wanted more debate on the issue, joined Maryann McAllen and Whitehead in voting against the bloc\u2019s power move to ditch the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were here last month,\u201d Ryan Johnson said, \u201cnone of us thought the sustainability plan would have a shorter shelf life than a carton of milk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
7. New city manager\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bloc also rode over Borowsky, Whitehead and McAllen \u2013 who pushed for a national search \u2013 in appointing Greg Caton as the city\u2019s administrative leader.<\/p>\n
After seven years as Scottsdale\u2019s city manager, Jim Thompson left at the end of 2024 to run a smaller city in Colorado. On Jan. 14, after Bill Murphy \u2013 Thompson\u2019s hand-picked successor \u2013 abruptly resigned, Council tapped Caton as the interim city manager.<\/p>\n
Though she earlier pushed for an open recruitment process, in April Borowsky joined in a 5-2 vote to make Caton the permanent city manager at a salary of $369,000,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
8. The Mack is trucking<\/p>\n
Despite the cries of neighbors in the DC Ranch area, who worry about \u201ctraffic nightmares\u201d and unsightly buildings, an industrial park is rolling.<\/p>\n
After a year-long construction on the first phase, the Mack Innovation Park is putting up the first of a planned 11 buildings \u2013 combining for 1.2 million square feet of industrial space \u2013 near the Pima Road exit of the Loop 101.<\/p>\n
Mack Real Estate Group says its planned campus in booming North Scottsdale \u201cwill fill a sorely lacking market need and provide employment opportunities in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, the Mack paid $125 million for 124 acres of state land on the doorstep of DC Ranch.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
9. Management shake up<\/p>\n
After being tapped as city manager, Caton in turn promoted former Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther as assistant city manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, somewhat mysteriously, two more longtime city managers were gone.<\/p>\n
Caton said Public Works Director Dan Worth and Transportation and Streets Director Mark Melynchenko both voluntarily left their positions. Both disputed Caton’s version, saying they were forced out.<\/p>\n
In any case, Caton eliminated the positions those two held, making \u201ca handful of organizational changes focused on streamlining city operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Caton promoted Judy Doyle and Kira Peters to newly-created deputy city manager positions.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
10. The Parque is in gear<\/p>\n
With all the battles surrounding the Axon development, a similar project 3 miles away quietly whistles ahead.<\/p>\n
The Parque is an apartments\/condos-hotel-retail-office campus dreamed up by billionaire tech guru George Kurtz, who plans to transform the former CrackerJax amusement park.<\/p>\n
At its Nov. 20 meeting, the Development Review Board unanimously approved the first phase of the mega Parque project.<\/p>\n
In stark contrast to the constant wailing Smith has heard, Kurtz faced no opposition in getting his project cleared for takeoff.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
11. Mayor goes populist<\/p>\n
Borowsky was repeatedly rebuffed by\u00a0 Council, not only in the Parkingate drama but also in her ideas to create a volunteer firefighting brigade and potential wild horse refuge, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n
So Borowsky took her case to the public, hosting two town halls where her plans found a friendlier audience.<\/p>\n
She said she plans more public forums \u2013 and is plotting an idea for \u201callowing residents to pose questions directly to their elected officials in an open forum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
12. Training center opens<\/p>\n
Rather than $22.4 million, the related bond projects for police and fire training facilities cost $37 million.<\/p>\n
Both opened in early 2025, six years after voters approved them as part of a $310 million total bond package.<\/p>\n
A new, $12.5 million fire station on Hayden Road just south of the Loop 101 also opened this year.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
13. \u2018Barry Bashers\u2019<\/p>\n
The outspoken bloc-leader Graham faced one challenge after another, with several formal complaints filed against him.<\/p>\n
An independent panel found Graham acted unethically by giving direction to city staff. After Council was evenly split \u2013 a 3-3 vote, with Graham recusing himself \u2013 on accepting or rejecting the finding, then-City Attorney Sherry Scott ruled the unethical ruling was rejected.<\/p>\n
Before he became Borowsky\u2019s chief of staff, frequent Graham critic Lamar Whitmer filed a complaint against Graham with the Arizona State Board of Accountancy.<\/p>\n
While that was dismissed, a few continue to engage in \u201cBarry bashing\u201d comments at City Council meetings.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
14. Roundabout \u2018canceled\u2019<\/p>\n
Though she insisted \u201cI don\u2019t like roundabouts, personally,\u201d Borowsky sided with those who said it was too risky to disrupt previously-approved funding for a roundabout at Scottsdale and Dynamite roads.<\/p>\n
Whitehead and McAllen insisted the issue was safety \u2013 as roundabouts force drivers to slow down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people who live near the roundabout don\u2019t want it,\u201d Littlefield countered. \u201cIt\u2019s the people who don\u2019t live near it that want it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bloc\u201d shrugged off opposition, pushing through a roundabout \u201ccancelation\u201d by a 4-3 vote.<\/p>\n
Funding to improve the current four-way intersection without turning into a traffic circle was later secured.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
15. New in Old Town<\/p>\n
Some might be tempted to say, \u201cEverything in Old Town is new.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not quite the case, but several major developments in Scottsdale\u2019s core accelerated in 2025.<\/p>\n
Making it to the finish line, though delayed: the Remi Hotel, a towering, 12-story, glamorous hotel featuring a rooftop pool and bar overlooking the city.<\/p>\n
A few blocks from the Remi, the 5th and Goldwater received permission to build 232 apartment\/condos in a five-story building.<\/p>\n
Nearby, construction has started on the 54-unit Magnolia Waterside at Old Town.<\/p>\n
Crews spent the year crafting the soon-to-open AC Hotel at the former Howard Johnson motel on Indian School Road.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
16. \u2018Development Row\u2019 surges, stumbles.<\/p>\n
Years in the making, the ritzy \u2013 also featuring rooftop pools \u2013 Optima McDowell Mountain Village completed a first phase in 2025.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re ready to make the move, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment can be yours \u2026 for $9,770 per month. If that\u2019s a bit much, you can snag a one-bedroom, one-bath for $3,915 per month. Condos are also available.<\/p>\n
Five more apartment buildings are planned here on Scottsdale Road, at the west end of \u201cDevelopment Row.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next to the high-end apartments, construction crews are hammering away at the $300 million ASM project, soon to be home to some 1,300 tech workers.<\/p>\n
Next to ASM, Banner is building a \u201chealth center plus\u201d facility. This is the smaller building of a medical campus to be anchored by a\u00a0 \u201ccutting-edge 350,000-square-foot hospital facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plans for the hospital, however, were criticized by the Airport Advisory Commission, which rejected a request to recommend the project. City Council will ultimately decide on the hospital plan.<\/p>\n
Across Hayden Road from Banner is the Axon land, the east end of \u201cDevelopment Row.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
17. \u2018Hot mic\u2019 moments.<\/p>\n
On a recording of the Aug. 5 SUSD Governing Board meeting, board member Carine Werner \u2013 who was participating remotely \u2013 can be heard saying \u201cShe\u2019s over nutrition and she\u2019s morbidly obese\u201d during a presentation by SUSD Nutrition director Patti Bilbrey.<\/p>\n
Werner later said she apologized to Bilbrey, though the latter disputed that account.<\/p>\n
Another Scottsdale \u201chot mic\u201d moment was captured in a recording of the Sept. 9 Scottsdale City Council meeting.<\/p>\n
Graham spoke in favor of the city filing a lawsuit against the state regarding \u201cthe Axon bill\u201d \u2013 but was on the losing end of a 4-3 vote that \u201cvacated\u201d the agenda item.<\/p>\n
During a break in the action, Graham could be heard saying, \u201cNights like this, I hate my job.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Expletive) hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
An unapologetic Graham later told the Progress the comments were \u201cunfiltered frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a018. Horne v. SUSD<\/p>\n
Over the summer, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne slammed Scottsdale Unified books as \u201cDEI\u201d and part of a \u201cleftist curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the fall, Horne called out \u201cthe latest effort by the Scottsdale Unified district to promote the transgender agenda among elementary and middle school students.\u201d<\/p>\n
SUSD administration called Horne\u2019s first attack \u201cbaseless accusations\u201d and the second \u201cbased upon incorrect facts and spurious allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
19. Airbnb wave fears<\/p>\n
Last year, after the passage of the \u201ccasitas bill\u201d that seemed to pave the way for short-term rentals, city staff presented Scottsdale\u2019s elected officials with what seemed to be a clever work around.<\/p>\n
The state responded by tightening language, forcing Scottsdale to comply.<\/p>\n
As Councilwoman Maryann McAllen put it, \u201cwe are being forced by state law to allow such unprecedented ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) to be built in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those additional structures, some fear, will be used as short-term rentals.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
20. SFD ambulance service starts<\/p>\n
Early this year, the first of Scottsdale\u2019s new, $450,000 ambulances started delivering patients from care facilities and private residences to hospitals.<\/p>\n
Council formally approved the program in mid-2024.<\/p>\n
The first year of running its own ambulance service is expected to cost the city around $1 million.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
21. Hiker dies<\/p>\n
After police spent hours searching for a missing Scottsdale hiker, Hannah Moody\u2019s body was located around noon May 22 near the Gateway Trailhead of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.<\/p>\n
The avid hiker was reported missing the night before.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
22. Farmers market to move<\/p>\n
After some expressed fears construction of a garage would \u201ckill\u201d the farmers market that has been operating at the First and Brown lot, the city reached a deal with organizers.<\/p>\n
The market will remain at its current location through next summer, then move to the Civic Center.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
23. New commission<\/p>\n
At Borowsky\u2019s request, Council appointed members of a new Budget Review Commission.<\/p>\n
After months of in-depth meetings, the commission delivered dozens of \u201crecommendations\u201d \u2026 which were largely ignored.<\/p>\n
David Smith, the former councilman and city treasurer appointed by the mayor to lead the commission, expressed frustrations with the budget that Council passed \u2013 before resigning from his position.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
24. Public comment \u2018pruned\u2019<\/p>\n
A Dec. 2, bloc-powered move to eliminate the \u201cnon-agendized public comments\u201d session that historically starts City Council meetings was met with scorn and anger by Borowsky, Whitehead and others.<\/p>\n
Graham insisted City Council is providing more non-agendized public comment time, with the session at the end of meetings expanded.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: Rather than \u201copen-ended\u201d comment opportunities at the beginning and end of meetings, as has been the case for at least a dozen years, citizens can only speak on non-agendized items at the end of meetings.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
25. Mayor v. manager<\/p>\n
After months of heated exchanges with a few council members, the mayor traded blazing emails with the city manager.<\/p>\n
After Caton insisted Borowsky expressed \u201ca lack of confidence in the Scottsdale Police Department,\u201d Borowsky challenged Caton\u2019s characterization as \u201cspurious.\u201d<\/p>\n
At an Aug. 26 meeting, Borowsky said she wanted Caton to deliver a WestWorld plan \u201cwithin five days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caton\u2019s emailed response the following day: \u201cthe mayor does not possess unilateral authority to direct or issue orders to the city manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour treatise on the City Charter is misplaced,\u201d Borowsky countered, \u201cas is your refusal to provide me and the public with a definitive response to my request.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1951, with a population of about 2,000, Scottsdale incorporated. Malcolm White was appointed its first mayor, and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":482445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,166900,5310,13239,138901,12176,1589,210669,7600,152497,218414,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-482444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-barry-graham","12":"tag-city-council","13":"tag-city-hall","14":"tag-lisa-borowsky","15":"tag-mayor","16":"tag-phoenix","17":"tag-remi-hotel","18":"tag-scottsdale","19":"tag-solange-whitehead","20":"tag-superintendent-of-public-instruction-tom-horne","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115814396264807659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}