Scottsdale’s new mayor will take the oath of office on Tuesaday. Lisa Borowsky won November’s election over incumbent Mayor David Ortega. Borowsky had also run against Ortega in 2020, and she says that campaign laid the foundation for this one.
Scottsdale voters also elected new City Council members in November, and observers say the city’s newly constituted government will likely be more conservative than the previous one.
The mayor and council members will have a number of issues to deal with, from housing and density to the future of Axon, the company that makes Taser stun guns. The outgoing mayor and council had approved an expanded campus for Axon late last year, including a new headquarters and apartments. But critics have reportedly collected enough signatures to refer the question to voters.
The company’s CEO last week cancelled a planned groundbreaking on a new headquarters, citing that referendum and associated delays as a big reason. The firm also says it’s looking at other locations across the country for that new headquartersQ, potentially leaving Scottsdale altogether.
The Show sat down with Mayor-elect Lisa Borowsky recently. This conversation happened just before Axon made its announcement last week. The conversation began with November’s election. One of the narratives about the race, at least on the outside, was that it was in some ways a referendum on growth and development in Scottsdale.
Full conversation
LISA BOROWSKY: That was the headline when I got in. That was the headline in 2020 also. And I think that was what people can look, feel and see: that density is taking over and it’s a problem and people are not happy with it.
But the lesser known issue that I think was as big was the fiscal situation, the spending, the tax-and-spend approach to governance. And so when the details of all of the, what I would describe as irresponsible spending or unaccountable spending, came out, I think people were really focused on that as well. So it was a dual approach.
And then of course, the third prong of that — and I would say equally as big headline — was that residents felt like they were not being included in the process, not being listened to, being disregarded and in some cases entirely dismissed. And so bringing residents back into city government and Scottsdale is a big, big issue.
MARK BRODIE: Let me ask you about some of the budgeting and and some of the fiscal issues, because obviously a lot of what you do as a city is sort of things that people see every day. You pick up the trash and you fix potholes — maybe not so much here as East Coast cities — but public safety, fire, things like that.
Are you looking to reduce the city’s budget? What are you looking to do in terms of budgeting and fiscal stuff?
BOROWSKY: So spending responsibly is the issue. When I was on Council 2008-2012, we were climbing out of the Great Recession. So it was baptism by fire. The education that I received, it wasn’t whether we wanted to cut spending — we had to cut spending.
And so during my term, I led the charge with Mayor Jim Lane, and we established the Citizens Budget Commission. And they took a real deep dive into evaluating departmental spending. Found efficiencies, found where we could cut wasteful spending, reined in the budget to the tune of 15%, which was significant. And we could have done more, but we didn’t cut any services or reduce any amenities for our citizens. So it can be done.
And on my watch, ideally the first agenda item, one of the first ones we passed, will be to reestablish the Citizens Budget Commission and do that again.
BRODIE: So on the issue of development, I know that there’s a lot of questions — and we brought this up a little bit — in terms of density and housing and apartments and high-rises and where all this stuff should be. Parking, I know, is a big issue in parts of Scottsdale. What to you is the vision for what kinds of projects you would like to see breaking ground in your city going forward?
BOROWSKY: Well, based on that description of the question you’ve just asked, I’ll start with residential, because development isn’t just residential, right? There are plenty of other development projects that come through the city. I want to restore a focus on high quality development, and that does not mean it has to be more expensive. It just has to be commensurate with the environment, the landscape, the history of Scottsdale.
The history of Scottsdale is not a bunch of high-rise apartments, and nor does anyone that I know that I’ve encountered, very few people think that that’s a good idea. We’re not Tempe, we’re not downtown Phoenix, we’re not downtown San Diego. That’s just not what our lifestyle is about. That’s not why tourists from all across the world come visit us. So I think that really is diluting what makes us special.
And so moving forward, I think we’re good. We’re maxed out on high density rental communities. And so there’s been a real push over the last four years. There’s a big focus on being average, in my opinion. You know, we need to provide housing for everybody. We don’t. We don’t.
We live in a municipal city that is surrounded by a very expansive and diverse economically and you know the products that are offered, the housing styles that are offered across the Valley so people can get to Scottsdale in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever the case may be.
So I think, becoming every other city or a push to be average and accommodate everything and everyone — we welcome everyone. But I don’t think we need to have housing that houses absolutely everybody.
BRODIE: So is not to say that there might just be some groups of people, some maybe socioeconomic levels that just won’t be able to live in Scottsdale?
BOROWSKY: No. It depends. During the campaign that came up. We need affordable housing. Well, I had a gal on my team, critical part of my campaign team who is a realtor. And she would pull it up frequently and she’d find properties that were, I don’t know, at one point several hundred, 300 properties that were in the $350,000 range.
So it’s misleading. There are a lot of areas of Scottsdale that cater to every economic — if you had two people in the residence — every economic base. So I think that’s misleading.
BRODIE: One of the first issues that you and your new council members might have to be dealing with is a controversy over Axon in North Scottsdale. They had the big plan to build a new headquarters, they had housing and some other things they wanted to build up there. There’s a group of people who don’t like that plan that’s looking to put it on the ballot to basically undo it.
And now the CEO of Axon is saying they might have to look to build somewhere else and maybe go somewhere else. I’m curious what you make of all that.
BOROWSKY: Well, it’s unfortunate. Certainly the city of Scottsdale is thrilled to have Axon in our community. And as mayor, I am thrilled to have them here. I hope they stick around. Their headquarters, when it was originally contemplated and came through when they purchased that state trust land piece, it did not include 1,900 apartments.
And so the referendum — and I can attest to this. I obviously was not part of the referendum effort. But I can certainly attest to the fact that it is top priority on voters’ minds about the high density. I think the Axon project, the residential side of it went too far. And I’m a firm believer in you should work with everything you’ve got and try to come to a middle ground that defuses the dispute. And that didn’t happen.
BRODIE: So in your role as mayor, how do you try to defuse the situation? Because as you say, you’re not supportive of their plans to expand their headquarters and put in residential and all the other stuff they were going to put in. But at the same time, you clearly want them to stay, which the CEO has said maybe they won’t.
So what’s your role in trying to mediate this?
BOROWSKY: So to confirm, I am supportive of their plan for their headquarters. Very supportive. I think it could be an amazing campus.
The problem lies solely in the 1,900 apartments at that location or in any location that I can think of in Scottsdale.