Though she still may have a political future, Tammy Caputi looms in one respect as a Scottsdale legend.<\/p>\n
The city has rarely seen the likes of this powerhouse fundraiser \u2013 who may be the envy of the current crop of Scottsdale City Council candidates.<\/p>\n
Eight hopefuls running for three seats are passing the hat for donations as they rev up for the July 21 primary.<\/p>\n
Campaign reports filed two weeks ago, covering the first quarter, show a few fairly strong fundraisers.<\/p>\n
But there are no Caputis in this bunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Scottsdale business owner dipped her toe into politics in 2016, running as a Democrat and getting trounced in a run for the Arizona House of Representatives by District 23 Republican incumbents Jay Lawrence and Michelle Ugenti-Rita.<\/p>\n
Caputi bounced back strongly four years later, sailing to Scottsdale City Council victory with Betty Janik and Tom Durham.<\/p>\n
In the 2020 campaign, Caputi raised an eye-popping $288,851 in campaign donations.<\/p>\n
Known for her upbeat, local-bragging \u2013 \u201cScottsdale is the gold standard\u201d was her unofficial slogan \u2013 business- and development-friendly approach, Caputi narrowly failed in a reelection campaign.<\/p>\n
Even after raising over $400,000 for her reelection campaign, Caputi had to give up her council seat last year.<\/p>\n
This year, Caputi is running again \u2013 for the Arizona House of Representatives. She\u2019s a lock to win the District 4 primary, as she and Karen Gresham will be the only Democrats on the July 21 ballot.<\/p>\n
Those two will have a hill to climb to try to unseat Republican incumbents Pamela Carter and Matt Gress, who face a primary challenge from Sandra Christensen. District 4 includes much of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.<\/p>\n
Carter, also of Scottsdale, has pulled in over $100,000 in her reelection campaign.<\/p>\n
Though ultimately pulling off a victory will be a tough row, Caputi is showing her hat-passing skills remain sharp \u2013 boasting she \u201craised over $100,000 in the most recent reporting quarter, the highest total in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s also quite a bit higher than the moderate fundraising hustle of this year\u2019s City Council candidates.<\/p>\n
MUR and Solange<\/strong><\/p>\n For the first quarter of 2026, the unofficial \u201cCaputi Award for Fundraising\u201d goes to \u2026 Michelle Ugenti-Rita.<\/p>\n The former state politician topped the Scottsdale candidate field by raising $38,759.<\/p>\n A close second at $33,500 \u2013 with an asterisk \u2013 is Councilwoman Solange Whitehead.<\/p>\n But the big note is that she started her reelection bid with $67,345 in her campaign while Ugenti-Rita started from scratch.<\/p>\n Former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik \u2013 who joined Ugenti-Rita in bashing Axon\u2019s North Scottsdale development plan \u2013 took time out from his own fundraising campaign for Arizona’s Congressional District 1 to write Ugenti-Rita a check for $6,750.<\/p>\n Another state politician ponied up $5,500 to Ugenti-Rita: Former Arizona Republican Party treasurer Elijah Norton, who is running for state treasurer.<\/p>\n Ugenti-Rita spent $11,000, including $3,500 for petition signatures to make the ballot.<\/p>\n As for Whitehead, her first quarter contribution list is led by $5,000 from Mike Wagers, listed as \u201cChief Customer Officer\u201d of Axon Enterprise.<\/p>\n Whitehead voted for the original Axon 1,900-apartment plan in North Scottsdale and a revised agreement earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know Mike Wagers,\u201d Whitehead told the Progress. \u201cIn Axon, he\u2019s a few rungs down. I declined and even returned money from the top (Axon) execs.\u201d<\/p>\n The two-term councilwoman looking for a third added: \u201cI am proud that I saved so many Axon jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Local real estate agent Troy Gillenwater wrote Whitehead a check for $3,000.<\/p>\n Christie Kinchen of Twins and Co. Realty sent Whitehead $6,000 in July, leading the councilwoman\u2019s $46,000 in 2025 fundraising. That total includes $10,000 in out-of-state contributions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn\u2019t out of state \u2018dark money\u2019 — it\u2019s my sisters and uncles,\u201d Whitehead said.<\/p>\n Starting the year with just under $100,000 in the bank, Whitehead spent $2,800 for printing and less than $6,000 total in the first quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t pay political consultants,\u201d Whitehead stressed.<\/p>\n Eager Ethan<\/strong><\/p>\n Caputi probably would be impressed by the way newcomer Ethan Knowlden hit the ground hustling in his political debut. He has raised just under $50,000.<\/p>\n The \u201cEthan for Scottsdale\u201d campaign raised $40,000 in the fall of 2025, adding another $7,500 in this year\u2019s first three months.<\/p>\n Knowlden\u2019s fundraising began with a bang in October, when Scottsdale couple Mark and Christiana Jackson wrote him a check for $7,116.<\/p>\n Also in October, Stephen Cohen of Connecticut\u2019s Executive Spruce Street Capital contributed $4,217 to Knowlden, leading out-of-state contributions of $8,200 in 2025.<\/p>\n In the first quarter of 2026, George Clark\u2019s $1,000 led a band of retirees supporting Knowlden \u2013 who also raised $1,500 in out-of-state contributions.<\/p>\n Knowlden spent a little over $7,000 in the first quarter, with $2,500 in printing costs leading the way. He also spent around $11,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $5,000 going to Cardella Consulting.<\/p>\n Graham grinding<\/strong><\/p>\n Councilman Barry Graham, a frequent foe of Caputi\u2019s while she was in office, entered his reelection year with a campaign bank of $29,555. In the first quarter, according to his report, he added another $20,318, spending a little more than half of that.<\/p>\n John Graham \u2013 no relation to Barry \u2013 of real estate company Sunbelt Holdings was Barry Graham\u2019s biggest donor at $2,500.<\/p>\n Chaplik also contributed and local public relations rep Jason Rose donated $1,000 each to Graham.<\/p>\n Todd LaPorte, CEO of HonorHealth, also chipped in $1,000 to Graham\u2019s campaign. (LaPorte donated the same amount to Whitehead.)<\/p>\n Graham in turn wrote a check of $10,500 to Phoenix-based Primary Consulting for first quarter \u201ccommunication and consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n Raoul raising<\/strong><\/p>\n Raoul Zubia started the year with $10,700 in 2025 contributions, raising another $18,000 in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Former Councilwoman Linda Milhaven \u2013 last seen in a failed attempt at mayor in 2024 \u2013 sent $1,000 Zubia\u2019s way. Restaurant owner Greg Field tipped Zubia $1,103.<\/p>\n In the first quarter, Zubia spent around $13,000, with $8,000 of that coming to two consultants.<\/p>\n Little-action<\/strong><\/p>\n By comparison to the fast-charging Knowlden, former Councilman Bob Littlefield had a sleepy campaign.<\/p>\n With his focus on the Axon development-fighting Taxpayers Against Awful Apartments Zoning Exemption political action committee, Littlefield raised a mere $8,600 for his campaign in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Old Town gallery owner Bob Pejman and retired Old Town leader Marilyn Atkinson each donated $1,000.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield \u2013 who is terming out after 12 years on council \u2013 loaned her husband $1,000 to kick off his campaign.<\/p>\n Littlefield spent a modest $3,700 in the first quarter, mostly for petition signature gathering.<\/p>\n Stones\u2019 throw<\/strong><\/p>\n Eric Sloan, also a newcomer to Scottsdale politics, raked in $27,000 in first quarter contributions.<\/p>\n Steven and Lisa Stone (she is a divorce attorney, he didn\u2019t list an occupation) threw $6,750 to Sloan.<\/p>\n Steven Hilton of Meritage Homes adding $2,500 Sloan\u2019s way.<\/p>\n Sloan spent only $500 in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Self-loan Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n According to her first-quarter report, Crystal Carroll took in $18,825. Most of that came from a self-loan of $10,000.<\/p>\n Entering the field relatively late, her first donation came on Feb. 24 with $200 from Joseph Schillmoeller of Best Efforts.<\/p>\n Her biggest contribution was a max $6,750 donation from Adam Wasserman of Select Beverages.<\/p>\n Carroll, the owner of an Old Town cafe dipping her toe into local politics, spent under $350 in the first quarter.<\/p>\n D3<\/strong><\/p>\n In the battle for two Arizona House of Representatives District 3 seats, Democrats Julie Gable and Richard Spargo will be on the November ballot.<\/p>\n Spargo has raised $27,000, Gable a modest $3,000.<\/p>\n They will face the top two from a field of four Republicans who will battle in the primary: Cody Reim, who was appointed to replace Chaplik, George Khalaf, Jay Schlum and Thomas Walsh.<\/p>\n Khalaf, a Scottsdale who runs First Day Public Relations, is the fundraising leader with nearly $100,000.<\/p>\n Reim, who battled then-Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega over water for Reim\u2019s Rio Verde Foothills, has raised around $58,000.<\/p>\n Schlum, of Fountain Hills, has raised around $30,000, with Cave Creek\u2019s Walsh bringing in only a tenth of that.<\/p>\n In the race for Arizona State Senate District 3, incumbent John Kavanagh (R) has raised $123,000 in his reelection campaign. Republican challenger Robert Wallace has raised less than $9,000.<\/p>\n Whoever wins the D3 Republican primary will face the lone Democrat, Jeff Fortney, who has raised around $25,000.<\/p>\n Kavanagh and Wallace live in Fountain Hills. Fortney is a Cave Creek resident.<\/p>\n Werner hat filling<\/strong><\/p>\n Another fundraiser operating at Caputi\u2019s level has emerged in District 4.<\/p>\n Incumbent Carine Werner (R) \u2013 who is also a member of the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board, but so far has not filed for reelection to the board \u2013 is aggressively fundraising for a House reelection campaign.<\/p>\n According to her first quarter filing, Werner came into the year with $272,939 in her campaign fund \u2013 and raised another $110,000.<\/p>\n Werner\u2019s passed hat has been filled to the tune of $414,402; the Scottsdale resident has spent about $66,000 of that on her reelection campaign.<\/p>\n With no Republican primary opponent, she will be sailing to the November election against the lone Democrat candidate, Aaron Lieberman, a Paradise Valley “entrepreneur” who has raised $157,000.<\/p>\n Lieberman is a former state representative who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though she still may have a political future, Tammy Caputi looms in one respect as a Scottsdale legend.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":770865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[316060,5229,5643,1587,262705,166898,92783,48495,60833,278436,270106,316058,316061,200772,316062,1589,241098,316057,7600,46683,152497,200773,316059,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-770864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-aaron-lieberman","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-az","tag-betty-janik","tag-bob-littlefield","tag-carine-werner","tag-councilman","tag-councilwoman","tag-david-ortega","tag-ethan-knowlden","tag-george-khalaf","tag-joseph-chaplik","tag-linda-milhaven","tag-mike-wagers","tag-phoenix","tag-raoul-zubia","tag-richard-spargo","tag-scottsdale","tag-scottsdale-city-council","tag-solange-whitehead","tag-tammy-caputi","tag-todd-laporte","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116511887104741762","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770864","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=770864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}