Scottsdale City Elections

The Scottsdale city elections are coming up fast, the primary election is on August 28.  The Mayor is up for re-election and there are 3 city council spots open.  There are 3 candidates running for Mayor and 11 candidates running for the city council.  To be elected in the primary election, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast for that candidates race.  It seems like a good time to announce my highly anticipated and eagerly awaited for endorsements.

First of all, the main issues that concern me about Scottsdale are:  1) redevelopment of the McDowell Road corridor and South Scottsdale, they've been dragging their feet on this for way too long, 2) preservation of the entertainment district, too many of the candidates seem to be running due to their concern over the "out of control" nightlife (under the guise of "protecting our neighborhoods"), that is incredibly shortsighted in my opinion, these bars and clubs provide great vitality and life to Scottsdale (and tax revenue), they should be embraced and marketed, not chased away, 3) height limits on new development, it irks the hell out of me seeing all these tall buildings sprouting up blocking our wonderful views and 4) tourism, it really is the heart and soul of this city.

There are 3 candidates running for Mayor, the incumbent is Jim Lane, the other two candidates are Drew Bernhardt & John Washington.  I've never been a big fan of Jim Lane, I voted for him last time more as an anti-Mary Manross vote than for any great affinity for him.  I think there are things he could be doing better, the foot dragging on the McDowell Road corridor and South Scottsdale being my main complaints, the whole City Manager fiasco has also made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but in the end, of the candidates I have to choose from, I think he is by far the candidate who can best deal with the issues I listed above, thus I am endorsing Jim Lane for Mayor.  The other two seem to be too much in the Tea Party mold, they are living in the past, we need to move forward, I think Jim Lane is the best candidate to move us there. 

Running for the city council are Denny Brown, Bill Crawford, Suzanne Klapp, Debra Komarnicki,
Virginia Korte, Eric Luoma, Joe Meli, Joanne Phillips, Guy Phillips, Chris Schaffner & Christian Serena.  For many of the same reasons I support Jim Lane for Mayor, I think there are 3 easy choices for the City Council, the 3 candidates who will be getting my vote are Suzanne Klapp, Virginia Korte & Eric Luoma.