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    • Scottsdale Mayor Ortega Admits Defeat as Voters Abandon Incumbents
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    Scottsdale Mayor Ortega Admits Defeat as Voters Abandon Incumbents

    Sakege Posted on

    Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega conceded defeat to rival and former Councilwoman Lisa Borowsky.

    Ortega’s fate was sealed after more votes were counted Wednesday night and Borowski’s lead did not budge.

    Scottsdale voters were also set to unseat two sitting council members in a conservative revolt of candidates who opposed the status quo at City Hall.

    Scottsdale voters also strongly supported a pair of local measures, a parks tax and a spending limit increase.

    In the dispute for mayor, both candidates were very critical of the other’s leadership in a heated race involving mutual throwing of spikes throughout 2024. But Ortega adopted a more magnanimous tone.

    “It has been my honor to serve the residents of Scottsdale as mayor. This was a hard-fought campaign and although my re-election was not enough, I thank each and every voter, volunteer and friend for their support. I congratulate the mayor. -elect Borowsky for his victory,” Ortega’s concession email said Wednesday night.

    “He and I disagreed strongly on many issues during this campaign, but I recognize his commitment to the residents of Scottsdale and wish him success,” Ortega added.

    Borowsky has not responded to requests for comment from The Arizona Republic.

    In the race for two vacant City Council seats, challengers Adam Kwasman and Maryann McAllen had a slight lead over incumbent Tammy Caputi, who was in third place. Councilman Tom Durham, who suddenly dropped out of the race late in the campaign to throw his support behind Caputi and McAllen, who were trailing in a distant fourth place.

    McAllen, a newcomer to politics, told The Republic via text message: “I am excited and encouraged by the results so far and look forward to the honor of serving Scottsdale for the next four years.”

    Caputi did not want to comment on the results until they were final.

    Election results in Arizona are not official until state and local officials have counted all ballots and certified the results. The counting of votes continues.

    As of Thursday morning, Maricopa County had counted more than 1.5 million ballots, according to county election officials. They estimate total turnout at around 2.1 million and estimate there are around 600,000 votes left to count. Uncounted ballots include those mailed or delivered in the days before Election Day and provisional ballots and those that need to be cured, meaning election officials must match signatures.

    Arizona allows voters to drop off early ballots at the polls on Election Day, and those ballots still must be processed and verified before they can be counted. Complete and unofficial results are currently expected between November 15 and 18. The election may be called sooner, depending on margins and the number of early votes left to count.

    We will continue to track the results as they come in. Check back for updates on the remaining races.

    Scottsdale voters decide the fate of two ballot initiatives. Both were on track for overwhelming approval.

    Proposition 490, a sales tax measure, received an overwhelming majority of “yes” votes in early counts. Proposition 491, a measure to increase Scottsdale’s annual spending limit, secured an even larger margin of votes in favor.

    Elections 2024: View Arizona election results

    Durham He asked voters in September not to vote for himurging them to elect Caputi and McAllen, warning that Kwasman would “threaten the future” of the city.

    Durham’s surprise announcement YoIt is directly related to the central issue dominating Scottsdale’s candidate elections this year: a battle between an opposing group of candidates and everyone else for control of City Hall.

    The opposition slate now consists of Kwasman and Borowsky, two particularly conservative candidates who tend to be more critical of Scottsdale’s leadership for its alleged fiscal irresponsibility and overdevelopment. They often talk about reducing what they believe is unnecessary spending and would likely work to reduce many existing municipal initiatives if elected.

    Taking into account the current composition of the council, Ortega’s concession to Borowsky guarantees that the opposition list will have a majority in the new City Council.

    And if Thursday morning’s trend holds, the opposition slate is on track to secure a powerful supermajority on the council.

    Kwasman said the initial results were “very surprising. They weren’t what anyone expected,” especially when it came to Ortega coming up short. He described the 2024 election cycle in Scottsdale as “an anti-governance year.”

    Durham shared Kwasman’s surprise at the result, marking one of the only instances of agreement between the two throughout the election cycle.

    “I thought (Caputi) would do better… I expected her to be the one who got the most votes. But, again, I think it’s the Republican type of wave,” said Durham, who also endorsed McAllen when he dropped out of the race. “There was also a lot of negative campaigning… It seems like that may have hurt her.”

    As for the mayoral race, Durham said he expected Ortega to receive more votes from Linda Milhaven in the primary election. Milhaven was the third mayoral candidate to fall short in the July primary, but she and Ortega are generally more similar to Borowsky than either of them are.

    However, the unofficial election result had a silver lining for Durham. He noted that the city’s two ballot measures received overwhelming support and said “they’re both much more important than any one person on the council. So I’m very happy about that.”

    The two Scottsdale-specific ballot measures on this year’s ballot are expected to have a substantial impact on the city’s future. Here’s a more specific breakdown of what both would do if voters approved it:

    • Proposition 490 would create a 0.15% sales tax for 30 years that would generate $1.2 billion to maintain city parks and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It has been at the center of a legal battle between the city and the Goldwater Institute over how Scottsdale billed for the proposal.
    • Proposition 491 would increase a state-imposed municipal spending cap by $271 million to avoid cuts to city services in coming years. It allows the city to spend more money than it already has, so the measure would not increase taxes or allow Scottsdale to spend more revenue than it collects.

    This article will be updated as election results become known.

    Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or contact him at [email protected].

    Sakege
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