Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega/City of Scottsdale
By Renata Cló | Arizona Republic
Scottsdale’s mayor campaigned to create a districted system to ensure local leaders come from all over the city, but he couldn’t find City Council support.
A council majority on Feb. 15 said the current system of electing council members at-large is more representative because voters get to choose all six council members and the mayor.
“Having the ability to vote for every single council person is representative and I also think that a person’s residence doesn’t define whether or not they are representing a person in another neighborhood,” Councilmember Solange Whitehead said.
Mayor David Ortega has often noted he is the only city elected official who lives south of the Shea Corridor, where a third of Scottsdale residents live. All six council members live within a 4.8-mile radius of one another in the central and northern portions of the city.
Most residents who spoke at the council meeting addressed that point.
“The closest City Council member lives approximately seven miles north of me and the majority lives 10 or more miles north,” south Scottsdale resident Paul Simonson said. “This leaves me feeling unrepresented, and I know many of my neighbors feel the same way.”
But the proposal to create three districts — with two council members from north, from central and from south Scottsdale — failed in a 5-2 vote.
More on the debate
