Seven Scottsdale Council Candidates Battle Over Axon, Dark Money, and Water in Acrimonious Forum Two Weeks Before Election

Thank you. I am the News Editor for the Scottsdale Independent Newspaper. And next to me is Ryan Winslett. He is Managing Editor. I want to thank everybody for coming out here today, both our audience members and our candidates. I'll give you a quick outline of the forum. We're going to have one-minute intros, introductions, and then one minute for the answers. We will give 30-second rebuttals if somebody is called out by name, but we're not doing rebuttals to rebuttals.

And then we'll have the one-minute closing. We're going to get to as many people's questions as possible today. I do hope that the forum will be a civil discourse on the issues and remind everyone of a part of our Independent News Media Civility Pledge, that I will do my part to help my community become a safe place for citizens to engage in civil discourse about public issues. I will add my own voice of civility to the community discussions of public issues. So, with that, thank you very much.

Welcome. With that, I'd like to get started. We'll start on the left with Crystal. Would you like to introduce yourself, please? Hi, my name is Crystal Carroll, and I am obviously running for City Council. I am one of the only business owners... I am the only business owner in Old Town that is running for City Council. I am running because I want to bring transparency back, and I want to focus on, and some civility back.

Everybody knows that we have a lot of issues at City Hall with the infighting, and I think enough is enough. I am not a career politician. I am not a lobbyist. I am truly just running for the people because I want to represent you guys. I want transparency and truth, and I want to focus on the things that are important, like our transportation issues, our water issues, and just making sure the budget is managed properly. Is there a timer somewhere? Is there somebody I'm not seeing? I'm sorry.

Oh, usually like you have a 30 or a 15. Sorry. I just didn't know when my stop was. But anyway, thanks. Anyway, definitely... you threw me off. Anyway, I am running to bring truth, transparency, and the people's voice back to City Hall, and hopefully everybody sees that with everything that's been going on with the infighting, and the dishonesty and the lies, all that fun stuff. So, elect Crystal Carroll. Vote for Crystal Carroll. Thank you, Crystal. Barry? Real quick.

The moment you start talking, I will start the timer. And at 15, does that sound like enough? I'll just wave my hand so I don't interrupt you through the mic. Just wave your hand. Okay. Well, thank you, everybody, so much. J. Graber and Scottsdale Independent, thank you for hosting today's forum. Appreciate my colleagues being here. Appreciate everybody in attendance today. I appreciate everybody streaming from home.

I'm Barry Graham, and I'm running for Scottsdale City Council, running for re-election. And when I ran four years ago, I made two promises that I wouldn't go along and that I would always put residents first. And I believe that if you look at my voting record, you'll see that I kept my word. I voted to stop harmful ideology. I voted against thousands of apartments, including Axon's 1,900 apartments. I voted to protect your referendum on Axon's apartments.

And I voted against and exposed $150 million in cost overruns. I hope today everybody's been seeing it all over their city, and I hope today that we learn why a super PAC from D.C. is spending a quarter of a million dollars to influence your campaign. And I hope that today we finally hear from Solange Whitehead condemn the super PAC spending over a quarter million dollars to rig this election and reward her. Thank you. Ethan. Good afternoon. My name is Ethan Knowlden.

I'm running for Scottsdale City Council. So, with apologies to folks that have heard this little spiel a couple of times, let me tell you a little bit about myself and why I'm running and why I think you should put me on council. So, born in New York, grew up in New Jersey, one traffic light town. Big growth for us is we got a second traffic light. College was in Connecticut, followed by a couple of years on Wall Street as a financial analyst.

That's where I learned that while I could do the numbers, I really liked the words a bit more. So, off to law school for me, a couple of years as a corporate attorney in Dallas, Texas, and then I was recruited to join a biotech company. And biotechnology and pharma has really spent the remainder of my career. Now, why does any of that matter? It matters because I know how to read a spreadsheet, and I know how to write a contract that's 100 pages long, and I actually can understand it as well.

Here's the other thing about my career. My entire career was transactional, which means negotiation, which means I bring sides together. I find common ground. We agree on terms, and we sign contracts, and we move forward. That's a set of skills that I think is missing on council. So, thank you very much. Thank you, Ethan. Bob. Well, my name is Bob. Whoa. Damn. I'll be a little softer. My name is Bob Littlefield.

And most of you will remember me from having been on the city council back in the early part of the century. That would be this century. And I am... You should vote for me for one big reason. Because I'm the one person up here... Well, I'll expand. I'll say one of the three people up here who you can trust not to stab you in the back when I get elected. When I say I'm gonna fight overdevelopment, I mean it. And I have a 25-year record of doing that, of fighting overdevelopment.

And so you know you can count on me. That's the biggest reason you should vote for me. Oh, and Barry and Michelle also. They have done their part. Thank you, Bob. Michelle. Thank you, sir. So I believe that Scottsdale is in the middle of what I would call a great municipal awakening. That they realize that the decisions that affect their day-to-day lives aren't happening in Washington, D.C., but are happening right here in City Hall.

I believe no longer can you get away with saying one thing and then voting the exact opposite over and over again. I believe Scottsdale voters overwhelmingly align with the principles that I have run on for the last 12 years. It's conservative leadership. It's individual Liberty. It's personal responsibility. It's entrepreneurship. And it's limited government. I'm a consistent vote for residents. I put you over special interests. I don't forget the fight that we're in.

I know the future I'm fighting for as a native of Scottsdale. I will serve you with honor. And I can't wait to represent you in City Hall. Thank you, Michelle. Solange. Hi. So I'm Solange Whitehead. And voters twice selected me to City Hall so that I could protect our McDowell Sonoran Preserve and bring community priorities here, which we have. And together we've done so much. We have protected neighborhoods. We have funded infrastructure, first time in 20 years. We have dedicated new parks.

And for the first time in the city's history, we dedicated 30 years of funding for our oldest parks working north. We've lowered your tax rates, doubled our city's reserves, paid down pension debt. And we've stopped the export of water, Scottsdale water, to Rio Verde foothills. We have a new ambulance service. We have a police park ranger unit. And we have, of course, protected the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

I am proudly endorsed by Scottsdale Police, Scottsdale Fire, and Scottsdale Realtors and elected officials that have served our community for 40 years. Time. Thank you. Thank you, Solange. Raoul? Good afternoon. I am running because I have... People have been telling me that they're sick and tired of the chaos, the noise, and the disorganization that's going through this current council. But more importantly, I am a lifelong citizen. I have seen what this city has become.

And for the most part, it has been a great city. And I am starting to see it go the opposite direction. Former banker, served on many, many boards and commissions. But the one I'm probably most proud of is the Protect and Preserve Task Force. We're the ones that put together Prop 490 that allows part of your sales tax to maintain the preserve and the parks going from south to north, and that's for the next 30 years. I serve on the Charro Foundation. I serve on the SUSD Foundation.

Those are education-based organizations. So I'm looking for your support, and I hope you vote for me. Thank you. Thank you, Raoul. So we're going to jump into the questions. I'll bring one of my own, and then we'll get to the audience right afterwards. So our first question will start with Barry. What is an issue facing Scottsdale that has gone under the radar for too long? And how would you prioritize and address it? J., thank you.

So the question is, what's an issue that's gone under the radar? Well, I mean, one thing that's been under the radar that we're finally getting a feel for is the amount of special interest, dark money that's flowing into our city. Right now, residents are being blanketed with over a quarter million dollars in just the last three weeks, with a lot more coming. This money is coming from a Washington, D.C. super PAC.

It's funneled through that, and it's spent by an axon-linked political action committee, Better Together. And it's done so to harm me, Bob Littlefield, and Michelle Ugenti-Rita, and it's expressly spent to reward Solange Whitehead. That's public record. Another thing is Solange Whitehead voted for 6,000 apartments, so I believe she's being rewarded for her votes, and we're being punished for standing up for you. Thank you. Solange? Yes, thank you.

So I will say, this is the pot calling the kettle black. I have been attacked by dark money, special interests, anonymous trolls, Internet trolls, representing Barry Graham since 2021. But as I've always said, I'm adult enough to handle it. I have not approved 6,000 apartments. I've approved about 360 or 70 a year in a city of 240,000 people and in all the right places. Thank you. Thank you, Solange. Ethan? So I'll start where we finished in our last session.

I think one of the things that has been under the radar but now has clearly emerged is the lack of civility on our city council. I truly believe that what we need to do here is to bring back civility. It's the only way that this city is actually going to be led forward. I'm very concerned that what we have here is a group of folks that really just want to say no to everything. And unfortunately, a city that isn't evolving is a city that's moving backwards.

So I truly believe we need to find ways to work together, regardless of party affiliation, to do what's right for the city of Scottsdale because we want to preserve Scottsdale as Scottsdale. Thank you. Bob? Well, the last time that there was civility here was when Winfield Scott was around. I've been running campaigns since 2002. I've been in nine. Every one of those campaigns I have been subjected, or my wife has, and she's a nice person, to vicious personal attacks.

And that's because there's a bunch of people here who want to take power in this town. They know they can't win by being honest about who they are and what they want, which is to own the council and make a ton of money. So it's all personal attacks. So anytime you hear personal attack, you have to know that that's somebody who can't win on the issues. Can't win on the issues. That's the difference. Thank you, Bob. Michelle? Yeah, I'd have to echo that.

Like, look, again, back to the Great Municipal Awakening. People are realizing that they want to be in control of their city, not special interests. And they're tired of, you know, council members like Solange Whitehead, who has a record of selling Scottsdale out over and over and over and over and over and over again. I mean, I remember being down at the Capitol. I never saw you at any of our consequential fights. Completely gone from the real issues facing Scottsdale.

So what I think the most pressing issue is, is stop running on a conservative record. How dare you? You haven't done anything for the conservative cause. You are a radical liberal that has sold Scottsdale out. And that's what people are noticing. And that is why we're going to have a referendum on city council on July 21st. We want conservative representation and leadership that puts residents first, not corporate interests. Thank you. So I think Bob Littlefield said it better than anybody else.

If you can't win on your own record, you attack those who have a good record. And that's certainly what we're hearing tonight. Listen, the city of Scottsdale for 50 years, this may surprise Bob Littlefield, but for 50 years we've run a good government. We are a success story. And on my watch, we have, again, doubled the city's reserves, which are now being gutted by the current council. And the budget is an illusion of cost savings that is going to cost all of us dearly. Time. Thank you.

Well, the biggest... Okay, 15 for rebuttal. So I was supposed to have 15 more seconds for my rebuttal. So this is a well-run city. It's a success story that the current council majority inherited. And rather than benefiting from that and moving us forward, they have undone 50 years of progress in this city. Thank you. Raoul. The one issue I see that's under the radar a little bit, and it's kind of come up to the surface, is citizen input, citizen involvement. We are not seeing that.

We are seeing a council who decides on their own what they want to do even before the meetings start. So it's very important that we continue to keep our citizens involved, continue to keep our citizens as part of decision-making. Thank you. We will jump in to... Oh, Crystal. I did this last time. I apologize, Crystal. Ready? Yes. So, unfortunately, I have to agree with the rest of the panel. And I never thought I'd be agreeing with Bob on anything. But I think he did say it best. You have...

People that can't run on their own agenda, all they do is attack. You have witnessed them attack Solange non-stop. They can't run on their own agenda. So I can tell you a huge problem is we have a city council that is corrupt. They approve things like the parking garage because their donors want it. They approve things based on their party. Listen, this is a non-partisan race. I will... When I'm elected, I will represent all of you guys, not just the people that give me money or voted for me.

So I hope that you look at that and that some of these behaviors are brought to light for you. Thank you, Crystal. Ethan, first of our audience questions. How have you been involved with the city of Scottsdale? Sure. So since I arrived here, and this is true wherever I've lived around the country, I've always tried to get involved locally. I believe in becoming part of my community. I think it's important. So here in Scottsdale, there's three things that I've done on a volunteer basis.

One, of course, where everybody starts in their own HOA neighborhood. So I was president of the DC Ranch Community Council. We took that community through a $10 million renovation expansion of its community center. I've also been president of the Scottsdale Industrial Development Authority, which is a financing organization for small businesses here in the city.

And I serve on the board of the Arizona Housing Coalition as well, which is a statewide organization that advocates for expanding housing opportunity and supports veterans that are at risk of losing their housing. Thank you, Ethan. Bob, the question is... How long have I been involved? You've got to be kidding. How long have I been involved with the city of Scottsdale? 30 years. I've been doing this for 30 years now, either as a council member or as a citizen activist. Okay.

Well, the question is, how have you been involved with them, not how long? Well, I was on the city council for 12 years. For a year and a half, I was the chairman of the committee that went out and got the signatures to put the axon apartments on the referendum. I was involved in 420. I was involved in Southbridge. I was involved in the building up there, the hotel up on Indian School. There's nobody up here who's been involved in more stuff. Even my ally, has been involved in more stuff.

Trying to keeps Scottsdale special than me. Time. Thank you, sir. Michelle. Yeah, thank you. Wow. Well, I've obviously represented Scottsdale for 12 years. I chaired the Commerce Committee, Finance Committee, Elections Committee, Government Committee, which is very consequential for Scottsdale because it's the Government Committee that regulates political subdivisions. I've been an 11-year appropriations member, so I negotiated billion-dollar budgets.

I have been a part of all of Scottsdale's most consequential fights. Including this one against overdevelopment, against Axon's 1900 apartment complex. I have spearheaded and championed bills that matter to Scottsdale. And on behalf of the arts community, I have fought for revenue for them. I have fought on behalf of our district, tax policy, cutting taxes. I mean, you name it, I've been a part of it. Plus, I'm a native and a mother raising my three kids here.

My interests completely align with the interests of Scottsdale. Thank you, Michelle. Solange. Okay. Well, let's see. I came here in 1996 and immediately got involved, thanks to Carla with no last name, in the preserve effort. So I was one of the early people who went door-to-door and helped pass the preserve tax, which resulted in our McDowell-Sonoran Preserve. I served on the Preserve Commission for six years. I also ran a nonprofit for conservation statewide.

And I was awarded the Conservationist of the Year Award by the Arizona Wildlife Federation. I am a volunteer at Scottsdale's Food Bank and have been doing that since 2020. When I found out there was a need for a 3D printer at the Scottsdale Community College, my husband and I were two engineers and one medical student. We donated the money so that they have a 3D printer lab there at the college for the kids there. Thank you. Thank you, Raoul. As I said, a lifelong resident.

So even as a kid, I was doing volunteer stuff with my parents. But since then, as an adult, I've been involved in the... I served six years in the Human Services Commission. The last two as chair. I served on the Scottsdale Leadership Board of Directors. As I said earlier, I was vice chair of the Protect and Preserve Task Force. That was the Prop 490 Task Force. I serve on the Charro Foundation, as I said, the SUSD Foundation. I also serve on the EVIT Foundation.

And I serve on the Parade del Sol Commission, the committee where I'm also an announcer. And because of all this community service, in 2021, I was given the Scottsdale Leadership Hodges Award. And then in 2024, I was inducted into the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame. Thank you very much. Crystal. So I moved here in 2018. I'm a mom of four. So I've been raising my kids here in Scottsdale. I have a different...

I play a little bit of a different role in what I've contributed to Scottsdale, which makes a great balance. I have... At one time, I think I had up to five businesses. I owned a multi-million dollar tech company that I was managing with almost 100 employees. I invested over half a million dollars in my cafe in Old Town. So my daughters and I run a cafe in Old Town. We're part of Old Town. I have a chain of yogurt shops that I also own, commercial real estate that I build and invest in.

I've done several different businesses that, by the way, I've done from the ground up. I'm not an investor, as I've been accused of. So the kind of experience that I bring, I've managed huge budgets. I've paid millions of dollars in taxes, which has contributed to our economy. And I bring an array of experience just working with different people, which is what we need. [Phone ringing] Thank you. Barry. Thank you. I'll just let that calm down.

So I was spent 10 years on boards and commissions before this. I was a precinct committeeman. I've been a precinct committeeman, a state committeeman for many, many years. And I was elected the city council in 2022. Very proud of the record we've put together. We've done so much in the past two years. We've stopped the road diet agenda that was ripping out your car lanes and replacing with bike lanes. We stopped a roundabout on Scottsdale Road while protecting the Grant.

We stopped anti-merit DEI in Scottsdale and we brought employees back into the office. After we did those things, we earned Forbes number one public employer in Arizona. I exposed $150 million of cost overruns that my prior colleagues from the prior council, they fought me to expose. I exposed them and they led to real reforms, including the creation of the Budget Review Commission and the Tiger Task Force.

And now, standing up for you, I'm on the receiving end of punishment of over a quarter million dollars of DC Super PAC spending to punish me for standing up for residents and standing up against special interests. Thank you. Okay. Our next question. The parking garage in Old Town across from the Mission was controversial. Did you support that location? Why or why not? And we will start with Bob. Do I support what? Parking garage. Oh. Pardon? The parking garage. Microphone. Micrphone Oh no.

Of course not. We have... If you look at every problem in Scottsdale, Scottsdale is mostly a great place to live. But we do have some issues. What's behind them? Overdevelopment. Got too much traffic? That's because we're trying to cram 10 pounds of people into a five pound sack. Worried about water? That's because of overdevelopment. We have enough water for the people we have now. We don't have enough water for another 10,000 apartments. So that is the issue.

And truthfully, it's been the issue for the last 25 years. Developers come in. They want to exploit Scottsdale's special character and high quality of life. And they want to do that by building apartments which are incompatible with what we all want Scottsdale to look like. So somebody has to be done by that. Somebody's got to stand up to them. And I am the person that's proven that I will stand up to those people. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. Would you like me to repeat the question? Sure.

The parking garage in Old Town across from the Mission was controversial. Did you support that location? Why or why not? The voters voted in support of more parking for the merchants down in Old Town. And I have a 15-year record of standing with residents and supporting their interests. And I support more parking so that cars can park in parking spots and then get out of their cars and then go into the shops and spend money. Thank you. Solange. Thank you. So it's true.

One of my first successes on council was the 2019 bonds. And tucked into one of the questions was parking in Old Town. But it was left to the city council to determine where that parking was needed before we waste your tax dollars. And so my request for a parking study... And this is not about being for or against a parking garage. It's about fiscal responsibility. It's a $20 million parking garage right smack in our historic Old Town without one bit of data saying that this city needs it there.

And so I oppose that because this council majority refused to do a parking study. And it's not just $20 million that is raising your property taxes. It's an additional $10 million in interest that is money that's taken away from parks, police, fire, and everything else the general fund pays for. This is just another reckless decision by a council that inherited a fiscally sound city. Thank you. Thank you, Solange. Raoul?

I too, was opposed to the parking garage, based on a 10-year-old study, we needed a new study. And yes, we did vote for a parking garage, but we didn't vote on the location. That, once again, was the council's decision that should have gone to the study, decided where we needed it. But it also changes the character of Old Town. We got a parking garage that's going to be three stories high. It's going to look like a shopping center when we're all done.

And it really destroys the character of Old Town. Thank you. Crystal? I think the parking garage is exactly why we need different people on council. Listen, the parking garage for me was about being responsible with your tax paying, tax dollars, and did the data support it? The data did not support it because we hadn't had it since 2015. And the voters voted in more parking, not in that specific spot. And at the end of the day, we should be responsible with the taxpayers' money.

And so I did not support the parking garage based on how it was done. Now, if we need more parking, I do support that. But we need it to be data-driven. So I think that's really important. And again, that's where you're not getting full transparency. People that voted to pass that parking garage, they got money from donors who wanted the parking garage. That vote was bought and paid for by developers and different people that wanted the parking garage up, people. Just know that. Thank you.

Good question. Thank you. So I stood with 37,000 voters who said, yes, build more parking in Old Town. That...we had years. We waited years and years for the...there was an anti-parking cell and a dark. ..aligned with a dark money group to oppose the parking lot. And we said, well, where's the alternate location? Where's the alternate? Nothing. They never came up with an alternate.

There was a dark money group that the anti-parking cell was aligned with was actually found guilty of violating campaign finance laws when they were publishing ads attacking certain council members. The other thing about this is that there is a comparable parking garage going up in the bar district. Except that was approved by seven council members, whereas the Old Town was approved by 37 voters. Selective outrage. They didn't have a word to say despite a comparable. This garage was bad.

That garage, nary a word. And finally, when we voted for that, there was a behind-the-scenes plot to sell off the corral for high-density housing that this parking garage stopped cold. Thank you, Barry. Ethan. So Barry does bring up a good point. We're really not talking about a $20 million parking garage. We're talking about a $40 million parking garage. There's two of them. This was a political compromise. They couldn't agree on where to put a parking garage, so they had to spend double.

That doesn't sound like fiscal responsibility to me. Here's the other thing. It is about data. We have a 10-year-old, 11-year-old study, and there's no way you can tell me that things haven't changed in Scottsdale over the last decade. We need new data in order to understand what our parking needs are and where those needs and how they need to be addressed. Thank you. Do I get... He mentioned my name. Do I get a rebuttal? Yes. That's a 30-second rebuttal. Thank you.

So I'll just say I heard a couple times, and I appreciate that comment, you know, not one bit of data for putting the parking garage there. How about the fact that voters told us to put more parking in Old Town? To me, that's a pretty important piece of data. The locations were given in the pamphlet. It was right there in plain English. And voters, 37,000 overwhelmingly said yes. So again, selective outrage, and we're bringing parking back to Old Town. Thank you.

The next question will start with Michelle. Did you support or oppose Proposition 490 that funded parks to preserve and public safety? Yes or no? I support it. Okay. Solange? Yes, it's actually my initiative, a commitment I made to voters in 2018 when they asked me to fund South Scottsdale parks. I'm very proud of that. With a very pro-resident council majority and thousands of hours of community input, we developed Proposition 490. It was opposed by every single council member, including Mr.

Graham, on the current council. But it was approved by every precinct in Scottsdale. Also from McKellips to Desert Mountain. And I just want to say that the misinformation campaign that we're seeing in this election cycle was true then, too. This was about funding our South Scottsdale parks, funding wildfire mitigation in the preserve, funding police, funding fire, and funding Westworld infrastructure. It has been a good thing.

It's what makes Scottsdale a success story, and it shows how aligned that council was with our community. Thank you. Barry, would you like to rebut? 30 seconds. Thank you. Can I just... I'll just do it now. So I'll just say that Councilman Whitehead... I'll get back to the question, though, in the... Yes. Okay. Thank you. Councilman Whitehead fought me when I exposed $150 million of cost overruns. She fought me.

And that's part of the reason why a lot of her colleagues were thrown out of last election. She voted for a $30 million controversial permanent roundabout on Scottsdale Road and shouted me down when I tried to get answers. Raoul? May I rebut? Because that's a different issue. I don't know what... No rebuttal to the rebuttal. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for listening to me. Raoul?

As I said earlier, I was the vice chair of the task force that put 490 together along with others in this room who worked diligently for 14 months to listen to the Parks and Department, the Preserve Commission, the Preserve Department, citizens, input from council, input from the mayor. We put that together and came up with a solution that will, for the next 30 years, know that your parks and your preserve will continue to be pristine and up-to-date, hopefully more than the 30 years. But...

And a short answer is yes, I absolutely support it. Thank you, sir. Crystal? I support it. I want to say this is... Listen, you want independent thinkers representing you. You do not want a block where they all make the choices together, okay? Or where they don't listen to the people. The people wanted 490. There are people up here who didn't want it. Thank goodness you have somebody who fought for the people and made it happen.

As far as roundabouts go, you also have somebody up here that cost the taxpayers $40 million changing that roundabout back to a traffic light. And, oh, and the safety rating went from an A down to a D. So, guys, you have people up here, they keep saying the same lie over and over and over again, and they're hoping that you will buy it. Just because they say it, please remember, it's not the truth. Thanks. Thank you, Barry. Do I get 30 more seconds? That was...

No, she did not mention you by name. That was pretty pointed towards me without... Yeah, it was. I mean, I think... No, sir. No sir. Okay. All right. Well, yes, I absolutely supported components of Prop 490. I supported the Westworld component as far as the drainage and the public safety and the preserve. Voted in the negative on that because the language of it was proven illegal. It was absolutely illegal. It explained a 30-year tax as a tax reduction.

And that's why the Maricopa Superior Court threw it out. And then they did this rush job where they rewrote it in a hurry. And so I didn't... That was way too rushed for my comfort. But the overall components of it, I stood with and I support. This is just part of a broader thing. When we exposed $150 million in cost overruns in Scottsdale, this is... Our budget and our finances are... Our fiscal house is finally coming into order. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ethan. So, yes, I supported Prop 490.

And there's actually written evidence to support that because I wrote in the voter pamphlet with my support. The gentleman to my left and right voted or wrote in that voter pamphlet against Prop 490. And I think Barry's being a bit disingenuous here when he talks about I supported certain parts of 490. And yet he talks about all 37,000 residents supporting the parking garage. Well, the bond measure in 2019 actually had about 160 projects in it.

I guarantee you not every resident knew about the parking garage and not every resident supported the parking garage. Did I get a response to that? Respond to that, please. Okay. 30 seconds. Well, like I said, I'm on record talking in the affirmative about components of it. But the language of that ballot was proven illegal, then we had a rush up. And then, so, Mr. Knowlden, who talks about oh, well, it would have been supported, which it was supported.

Now that we know the bond project for the garage was supported, now he opposes it. So I see a little bit of selective outrage there. Thank you. Where are we at? Bob? I opposed 490. We collect too much in taxes already. Thank you. So we'll go to the next question. Michelle? Michelle answered. Okay. It's confusing now. Solange, we'll start with you this time. What ideas do you have to promote water conservation? Bring back sustainability plan? So heat is the number one killer in the country.

And on top of that, we all know that water is life. And so for 30 years, this city has invested in forward-looking ways to conserve our water and to recycle our water and to make our water, to make sure that we have secure and safe and affordable water. So on this council, for the first time ever, they have defunded hundreds of millions of dollars of water infrastructure projects. And so it's water that you don't know about that's being lost underground.

I always say it's like the roof of your house. You fix it before it caves in. Well, they've defunded efforts to protect our pipes and catch leaks underground. They've defunded all the efforts we need to produce new water to replace the water that we're losing from the Colorado. And let me be very clear. I don't care where our water comes from as long as it's clean and affordable. Thank you. Raoul. Would you repeat the question?

What ideas do you have to promote water conservation and bring back this, sustainability plan? Well, first of all, I think that Scottsdale has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to conservation and water treatment recycling. I think we should continue to be that city that everybody looks to. Unfortunately, we don't have that going right now.

We have a couple of projects that were taken out of one budget, moved to another budget, and could really make a negative impact on our general funds and other things, other services. As far as the sustainability plan, I think it's very important that we bring certain parts of that back because, as Council Member Whitehead just said, heat is the big factor when it comes to, obviously, here in Scottsdale and in the Valley.

So we need to find ways to make it cooler to make it more conservative and conserve as much as we can. Thank you. Crystal? I, too, of course, I oppose all the cuts that they did in the budget to make themselves look good. Again, it attests to their lack of experience. You have people up here who have told you for the last 30 years they've been making money off of you, being a politician, being a lobbyist. They've never actually built something. You know when you build something, you invest.

It's like my restaurants. I invest in the food quality. I invest in my employees. I invest in the environment. This city needs water investment. And that means not cutting a budget to understand water and our needs. Secondly, we need to depend on experts, not comedians, not scare tactics. I believe we need to depend on water experts and keep investing in all the different options. And don't listen to the scare tactics. Thank you, Barry. Thank you.

Well, I listen to Scottsdale Water and their leadership and their experts. And they say, water, we've been planning for drought for decades, and our water is secure. The only thing I've been hearing is from my opponents in this campaign saying, vote for us or your tap will run dry. That is pure scare mongering. The sustainability plan was an extreme plan that would monitor, ration, cost, and cost you.

We know it was unpopular because it was passed by a lame duck council by members who were thrown out of office by you. Water, what we do for water, is we listen to our experts, we get politics out of our water planning, and we increase our supply through acquisitions and raising Bartlett Dam. We do more for conservation. And we also vote against, here's the key, we vote against over-development. That's why I voted against thousands of apartments.

Solange Whitehead, who pushed the extreme sustainability climate Green New Deal plan. She has voted for 6,000 apartments. She just falsely said she didn't. The record, I published it today online. She's voted for 6,000 apartments, which she's getting rewarded for. That's how we stop that. Okay. Thank you so much. So, our water experts are gone, and we've heard from experts around the state. Our experts throughout the city are gone. And I should point out, Betty Janik did not run.

The only, really, person who got unelected in the 24 cycle was someone who voted with Barry Graham against Prop 490. But our water experts are gone. We have a sustainability... We have a water strategic plan, approved policy by a former council, and that's been defunded through the budget. Which is the wrong way without public comment, without data, and without a vote. Thank you. Ethan.

So, I'm going to point out that we're being accused of throwing out scare tactics, when in fact, the other side is also throwing out scare tactics. Saying that, in fact, we're going to force you to drink your wastewater. Well, the truth of the matter is, and even Adam Kwasman will tell you this, that no water leaves our facility, our treatment facility, without being approved for drinking water use to ADEQ standards. So, all of that is just fear-mongering to try and get your votes.

Here's what I'm going to tell you. You can't undevelop your way out of this water situation. You can't conserve your way out of this water situation. There is a difference between being on council and being effective on council. Bob says he is the champion for making sure no development ever happened, and yet there is 25 years of massive development in this city. So, who are you going to believe in this contest? Thank you. Bob? Well, for the first 12 years, I was in the minority.

And that's something I hope to fix here within the next three weeks. Because it's all about four votes. But let me say this about water. And I have to say this California water is really delicious. Water is like money. You have to live within your means. If you collect a certain amount of money every year, that's what you need to spend. No more. Well, the same thing is happening with water. And that's where we are. We have enough water right now, today, to handle the citizens we have.

What we don't have is enough water to go ahead and fill up another 10,000 or 20,000 or whatever apartments. Solange has already approved 6,000 apartments in her time. Her buddies here are just chomping at the bit to join her. So, if that happens, then, yeah, you're going to have to drink sewage water. Time. I mean, there just won't be enough of anything. So, the answer is live within your means. Time. Stop over-development. Thank you, Bob. So, that would be... Yeah, no. I'm sorry.

Solange gets thirty. The forum isn't all about... I have a rebuttal. I get a rebuttal. I apologize. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. So, what we have is an over-allocation problem and people who are willing to put politics ahead of your water security. Listen, 300, 400 apartments a year isn't going to change a thing. We have 70% reliance on the Colorado River. It's shrinking. And they're chasing one and done supplies of water, which are not going to save us. We need to invest in forever water.

That's been defunded by these people. We have never had a city or state that has put politics ahead of water security. Right. We have that today at City Hall. Thank you. Michelle please. Solange, you put politics over water security. You voted to defund it. And you're calling everybody names and you're lying to the audience and saying you weren't part. It was a 7-0 vote. And this does matter because this is a merit-based issue.

You're a climate change alarmist who is not being honest with the public. 7-0. You voted to defund water infrastructure and defund toilet to tap. The very program that you told everybody was ready for prime time. The very program you said that nobody should have any concerns with. And then you hide behind the science. But here's the thing. The science has not been proven. That's why the regulations are not finalized. At the State Department. That's why no other city in Arizona does it.

Let alone the country. Let alone the world. Only a handful of isolated places. I have been contacted by chemists all over this country that have heard about this issue. Time. Who are shocked at your disregard. Well thank you for having... For the reckless and the risks associated with toilet. I think your time is up. Thank you. I'm sure you want my time to be up because you don't like that I'm calling you out. And last debate she couldn't answer. Okay, let me...

I am so thrilled to have extra time. Listen, this is a city council adopted policy. And any policy that's overturned by a council needs to be voted on and discussed at a council meeting. To avoid that because our population would be very angry to know that they're defunding your water security. You defunded it so much. They put it in a budget. So the city manager... Where else does it go?

Defunded a city council approved policy in the budget to avoid transparency, discussion, requirement for data. Time. And then put that as... And of course I voted for the budget because I support pay raises for our employees. Thank you. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. She just admitted she will not vote the way that she believes. [Talking over one another] Thank you very much. It took two debates, but I got it. Take control of her. I got it.

[Audience shouting] This is exactly what you will get on city council with these three. Okay, real quick. Can we please have decorum? This is an issue. And also from the audience. It's an issue-based exchange. We'll just keep it nice and calm and let's get through this. We're doing great, gang. Let's make this happen. Thank you. Decorum. Our next question starts with you, Raoul. Density. The current Axon MOU is less dense than the many projects previously approved, such as Museum Square.

Did you support Museum Square? If not, why didn't you try to stop it with a referendum? Make sure I understand the question. You're asking about Museum Square. Yeah, could you? I can read it again. I didn't quite get that. The current Axon MOU is less dense than many projects previously approved, such as Museum Square. Did you support the Museum Square? If not, why didn't you try to stop it with a referendum? Well no. I didn't. I don't and didn't support the Museum Square.

I think Old Town should stay that way. Old Town. It should be one, two-story building, something that just as kitschy as it is, as old as it is. It is Old Town. That's the way it's supposed to look. I don't think we need to have a, I don't remember if it's 10 or more, story building right in an area where it is still, yes, that you have streets there, but no major streets that you can get in and out of. As far as referendum, it just never played that part of it.

I just, as opposed to it, have been since I first heard about it, and will continue to be opposed to it. Thank you, sir. Crystal? What's interesting about Museum Square is I don't support it. I think it's going to be about the same height as the waterfront. So we've got that going. What's interesting is the residents there contacted me because they contacted city council members for help on Museum Square.

The same people that attack and vilify Axon, those same people, they contacted and they didn't do anything to help them. So you have to be careful. You have cherry pickers here. You have cherry pickers that will vilify an organization which, by the way, has a real crime data center. It brings so much more than Museum Square is bringing.

And just the lack of transparency and the lies that come from city council members, I hope you see through them and vote the right way because all you get is lies. Thank you, Crystal. Barry. Thank you, J.. So Museum Square was much smaller, 354 sale condos, very tall. I opposed it. Councilmember Whitehead was on council and she supported it. We also got public parking for that. Axon was the largest apartment complex entitlement in Arizona's history. Solange Whitehead voted for it.

Then she took a $5,000 check from an Axon executive. She's not running on her record about Axon. She's running from it. She voted for Axon's 1,900 apartments. She voted to cancel your referendum. She voted to give them never-before-seen self-certification perks. And she voted to waive their water. Yet she cries, she yells drought and she voted to waive their water. So I think that when Solange Whitehead isn't waiving Axon's water, she's carrying it. And I have a question for her.

Will Solange Whitehead finally condemn the super PAC Washington, D.C. dark corporate money being spent and blanketing our entire city to manipulate our election. Thank you. Solange? So do I get the same amount of time for each time he calls my name? Sure. I think that would be great. Listen, I'm going to first... First of all, the super PAC... I have three people up here who are riding a tidal wave of dark money.

And suddenly, just like all bullies, they get a little taste of their own medicine, they start crying. But let me talk about Museum Square because that was the question. And I get an extra 15 seconds. Okay, let me talk about... This is your rebuttal. Oh okay. Yeah, so I will say that Axon absolutely has all the water. There was a $1.5 million which would probably serve 12 houses that the former mayor. .. That's gone because of the state law.

Absolutely, I support keeping a $10 million revenue generator in town for 600 apartments. Time. Thank you. Okay, so apartments or Museum Square. We go back in order. Oh okay. That was your response. We'll go to Ethan. Okay, thank you. Thank you. I think I'm up. So I believe the question was about Museum Square. So the good news for me is I wasn't actually on council when Museum Square was approved. It may actually come back to council.

So I'm not going to offer you a direct opinion on whether I think it's a good idea or a bad idea. But here's what I can say. I'm not in favor of height in the city of Scottsdale because I believe it's not in keeping with the character of the city. I'm also not necessarily in favor of referendum because I believe that you are much better served as residents and voters in the city of Scottsdale if you put the right people on council and then you get good decision-making, right?

So the other thing that I'll say here is just a little bit about dark money because it seems to be the most important topic here. And you know in my mind dark money is usually just money that goes to my opponent, right? That's what everyone seems to think of dark money is money that I didn't get is somehow bad money. There is dark money throughout this campaign, but here's the bottom line.

It is all legitimate in the sense that, thanks to Citizens United, all these folks have the ability to say whatever they want for or against candidates. If somebody thinks Barry did a bad job, I'm sorry, Barry, maybe he did a bad job. Thank you, Barry. Would you like to respond? Yes, thank you. So, you know, it's kind of to see Mr. Knowlden sort of be an apologist for dark money is not a good look. Mr.

Nolden came to city council and lobbied us, pressured to cancel your referendum, your 26,000 signature referendum on Axon's apartments. What we are seeing in Scottsdale's election, we've never seen before. Routing over a quarter million dollars, probably be over a half million dollars to a million when this election is over, to manipulate and buy this election and install people that support Axon and hurt people that oppose it. Thank you. No rebuttal to rebuttal. That was not...

that was my statement on Museum Square. So, he then had a rebuttal calling me out. No, we do not have a rebuttal. All right, we'll catch you next time around. Bob. Well, it's nice to hear that Ethan doesn't believe in referendums because if our TAAAZE lawsuit against the state doesn't succeed, you won't see any more referendums in Scottsdale because they took you right away. The state legislature took that right away from you. And your city, your council majority, did not choose to challenge it.

We in the private sector had to challenge it. And I'm not the head of TAAAZE anymore, but I certainly hope they succeed. As for Museum Square, no, I think it's a bad project. And I would oppose it if it came back while I was on council. Thank you. Michelle. I do believe I got a rebuttal to that one. I'm sorry, Ethan, go ahead and respond. So, I do find it very interesting that Bob is talking about TAAAZE because, in fact, it's completely funded by dark money.

In fact, when we talk about ties to California, I think Bob's got more ties to California than I do because it's sponsored by a California labor union that has a beef with Axon. So, I think at the end of the day, what I was saying about the California... You're lying, Ethan. Excuse me, Bob. Thank you. No, you're lying. Respect his time. Please respect his time, Bob. No, you don't lie about me. Bob, you're suing the city of Scottsdale over the MOU. Currently, when I actually... 10 seconds.

What sorry? 10 seconds. Thank you. So, if anyone wants to go back and look at the tape, when I actually spoke in front of council, I was against them filing a lawsuit or pursuing the lawsuit. I had no comment on whether or not the referendum should have gone. I believe the referendum should have gone to the citizens for a vote. Thank you. Michelle. Yeah. I oppose the Museum Square development, unlike Solange Whitehead.

And what has been very interesting about this particular issue is when I met with the residents and the business owners, they felt so betrayed. Many of them were your supporters and actually voted for you. They actually printed out your flyers to show me and said you had wrote in one of them, protecting neighborhoods from overdevelopment, yet they felt sold out because you actually sold them out. This is a woman who has voted for 6,000 apartments.

This is a woman who says she cares about the character of neighborhoods, but doesn't care enough to vote against towering apartment development time and time again. And Museum Square is just another example, a long history of the betrayal that you have in your wake. It's very unbecoming, very, very unbecoming. Extra 15 seconds. 30-second rebuttal and then your minute. Oh okay. Got it. Thank you. Okay. So, I will... So, on Museum Square, I was elected to a very pro-development council.

And so, unlike some of the people up here, I was elected to win for you, not vote no and claim I'm representing you. So, I absolutely did negotiate the project better. And I reduced, I got rid of three apartment towers and turned them into three condo towers. I secured 30% public open space. Time. Okay. Should I continue? Since it's sort of the same topic. Yep. I secured 30% public open space and very cheap parking spots paid for by the private developer.

And at this point in time, the residents have come to me because the developer was going to tear down the transit center and cut down some beautiful trees in the area, even though the development is not even on the horizon. I stopped the destruction, the demolition of the transit center. The city of Scottsdale today is watering those trees because of my request. And so, the area still looks beautiful. I want to talk about what I've done for Old Town.

Again, there were six votes for Museum Square when I got elected and I was told to shut up. And I said, no way. And I went to the negotiating table. But since then, I have reduced the bonus heights that were approved in 2018. Got rid of all those 150 foot bonus heights. I protected two historic buildings. I stopped the sale of public land on the canal for development and it will now be a park. I'm very proud of my record. Thank you. No. I started the question. You started the question.

I do apologize. Crystal, back to you. Who of these candidates will promise to stop the infighting and personal attacks on the council? Are you talking about who? Are you supposed to include yourself or are you asking my opinion? I believe the question is asking, will you promise to stop infighting and personal attacks on council? Yes. Look, it's a big reason that I'm running. It's one of the only reasons I'm running. I'm not a politician. I'm not a lobbyist. You have lifer politicians.

You have lifer lobbyists. I'll tell you what. I am here only for you guys. I will be your independent voice. I will listen to the residents. And I challenge anybody else running to, especially my three fellow Republicans, to donate your salary. I am here not for the money, like I believe they are. So, I challenge you. We can all, whoever wins, let's donate your salary to a non-profit in Scottsdale. Show, prove that you're not here for the money.

Because when I ask what Bob Littlefield or Michelle Ugenti have done for a living for the last 20 years, I'm not getting any answers. Maybe worked as a lobbyist for a year before they were fired for something else. A lot of money from TAAAZE What have they done in the real world? Okay, thank you. So, Bob, would you like to rebuttal? 30 seconds? Bob. Can you hear? Would you like a 30 second rebuttal? You get a rebuttal. I am a rebuttal. Okay. Well, boy, I love these little forums. Let me see.

It really gets the blood flowing. Makes me feel pretty good. You know, there's no civility here. And there hasn't been ever in the 25 years that I've been involved. I remember one time I was opposed to a project and the developer actually paid for a robocall for people to say that I was anti-Christian, which obviously is ridiculous. So, you know, there's never going to be civility here. And for Ms. Carol down there to say that she's all for it. Time.

Just look up the stuff that she has said about Barry, Michelle, and I. And you'll see how hypocritical that is. Michelle, would you like a 30 second rebuttal? No, that's okay. She can have her little moment. It's cute. Okay. That's the stuff I'm talking about. Class act over here. Thank you. Okay. Well, so let's... So, we're keeping things issue-based. And really what it boils down to is that voters don't vote for us to get along.

You can vote for people to get along and vote for thousands of apartments and vote for harmful ideology and ignore cost overruns. And that's what we had before. They vote for us to vote for them. And sometimes that means standing firm. What we're seeing in the last couple years is that voters throughout the entire... the entire prior council was unreturned. Never happened before like that. And since then, we've seen a nascent growth of dark money and special interest money pounding our city.

And what they're doing is they're sowing discord. We know how much it means to dark money and special interest to get control back of their city council because of how much they're spending to blanket this city with personal attacks, innuendo against me and Bob and Michelle. You see it on the streets. You see it in your mailboxes. That is uncivil. And that is personal attacks and innuendo to take... so establishment can retake control. Time. Thank you.

So it's unfortunate that it seems most people on the dais here don't really even understand the definition of civility. Because the definition of civility is that you are going to be in disagreement and yet you are still going to be polite to each other. You are not going to lower yourselves to personal attacks. And so yes, Bob, Barry, Michelle, we can all vehemently disagree but we can still be pleasant to one another. And that is the definition of civility.

And that's what's lacking on this current council. All they seem to be capable of doing is arguing. They are not capable of actually finding common ground. So yes, I do believe that I can bring civility back to this council because my entire career has been based on negotiating across language barriers, across cultural barriers to try and bring two sides together to find some common ground and get us all to move forward. So I have to say, this is not about politics. This is about Scottsdale.

It's about doing what is right for Scottsdale. And that's what I will commit to do when I'm on council. Thank you. We've got three rebuttals. First Bob. Third and second rebuttal. Well, you're still talking about civility, right? Yes. You're rebutting to Ethan. You're rebutting Ethan's comments. Okay. Um, I think we beat the subject to death. Uh, there's no civility is always kind of a me for you first kind of thing. And then I'll be civil. I've don't go to the council meetings.

I watch them on television. And as I watch those meetings, what they're really are is their definition of civility is you do what I want, or I'm going to insult you. And it is not uncivil for someone to stand up for what they believe in. In fact, that's what you want your council members to do. Thank you. So you don't want them to just say, okay, well. Thank you, Bob. You're good to do that. I'm good. You have to stand up for what you believe. And looping back. It's time, Bob.

There's one reason why you should go ahead and vote for me. Barry, would you like to go? Well, so my name was called. And so I'll just keep it on the issues. Mr. Knowlden. He recently moved here from San Francisco. He's supported by out of state, far left progressive groups. He is on Axon CEO Rick Smith's golden ticket. Axon CEO Rick Smith brags about Ethan as pro-growth in Scottsdale.

That happened after Ethan Knowlden came to city council and lobbied to cancel, to void your 26,000 signature referendum on their 1900 unit apartment. I mean, he's defended dark money and he's pushed Axon. So I'll keep it on the issues. Thank you, Michelle. 30 seconds. Sure. I have a long record of successfully championing tax reform, election reform, business licensing reform.

You know, you don't get that done unless you know how to engage the other side, constituents, stakeholders, the media, colleagues. And I have a history of delivering results. And fundamentally, that's what the public wants. They want to know how can you deliver a better quality of life for them. I mean, this civility conversation, it's just a shiny ball for those that have nothing to offer who don't know where they stand on the issues. Time.

Or in Solange's case, is afraid to tell everybody where she stands on the issues. Thank you. Solange, 30 seconds. Love the extra time. So, the Axon referendum was blocked by four people on council, not me. I voted to give you a vote. I voted to give you a vote on Prop 490. It was blocked by the same people. So, on to the question. I ran for council in 2018 to stop a desert discovery center that the majority on that council really supported. Am I... Am I... Is my rebuttal? That's your rebuttal.

Okay. So, yes, I'm very proud of my record. So, let me talk about civility. So, I ran against this desert discovery center... That's time on the rebuttal. Mm-hmm. That's time on the rebuttal. I think it's a question now. Bob's... It's Bob's turn for the question. What was the question. Oh, I see. He never answered the question. Stay tuned, folks. Do you want me to respond? So, Bob, you've got one minute. I mean, my name was... Mentioned. I didn't get my rebuttal. I'm sorry? I had no response.

My name was mentioned. I thought you... You rebutted it. No, that wasn't my rebuttal. That was my answer. We haven't gotten your answer yet. That was your rebuttal... Oh, you never... Oh, then, I'll use my rebuttal for my answer. Alright. Are we still talking about civility? Yes sir. Okay. As I said, civility is overrated. Civility is less important than standing up for what you believe. And if that means you have to be a little testy, go for it. That's what I believe.

And I've been watching these council meetings, and I see people, oh, you know, people are uncivil. No, what I see is people like Barry and Jan and Kathy standing up for what they believe is right. That's not uncivil. That's exactly what they're supposed to... Sorry about that. That's exactly what they're supposed to do. And you'll get more of that if you elect me. Thank you, sir. Michelle, one minute. And this is on... Civility. Civility. But okay, but we're still on civility? Yeah.

Who of these candidates will you promise to stop the infighting and personal attacks on city council? I don't know. Are you asking that of Axon's PAC? I mean, that's the organization that has attacked the three of us viciously with personal attacks. I mean, I could just... I can't speak for anybody else, but my record speaks for itself. I stay on the issues. That's why we're talking about overdevelopment.

That's why we're talking about the difference between someone who doesn't support making residents drink toilet water and someone who does. These are issue-based. This is someone who supports making sure that we fund our infrastructure, that we have... that we don't support congestion, that we protect our preserve. This is someone who says that, but does the exact opposite. These are the issues that affect Scottsdale. These are the issues that I think will define this race.

Speaking to the issues are important because it's about what voters want, which is results. In terms of civility, I would honestly want to ask the dark money pack that's funding to the tune of a quarter of a billion dollars some of the most unprecedented, vile, vicious, misogynistic attacks out there. Thank you. Okay, so back to that Desert Discovery Center that I opposed and the majority supported. I passionately opposed it.

And I ran into Mayor Jim Lane and I said to him, he was a supporter, I'm going to run for council. And he said, Solange, you are the most agreeable disagreeer I know. And I won that election. And immediately, every one of those professional city council members met with me one-on-one to find out what else can we agree on. We disagreed on the Desert Discovery. It stopped. It went away. And we got together and we did the bonds.

For the first time in 20 years, 70% of our residents supported three-question bond package. And that's because we were a civic-minded, professional organization that knew how to disagree, debate, and get things done. But to Crystal's point, I just want to point out, in 2020, when we were facing unprecedented inflation that Mr. Graham is blaming on the council, we dealt with it professionally too. And I gave up the equivalent of my salary and donated it to Scottsdale Cares during that time.

Thank you. Well... I get a rebuttal. Oh, I'm sorry, rebuttal. Well, Councilmember Whitehead brought up finances, and I'll just go back to it. When she was in the majority, part of the majority axon block, she voted for $150 million of cost overruns that I fought hard to expose. Everything from a $30 million overrun on the Scottsdale Road roundabout all throughout the city. We exposed those. She brags about how we got our reserves up.

We were hoarding away our money, and we took that money and got a return on that by paying down our police pension. Our fiscal situation and health is so much better than it was. Before, we were chasing cost overruns. We were throwing money left and right. They were constantly coming to city council to approve another overrun. And then I would get shouted down for trying to get answers.

And ever since then, we brought in a professional city manager, and the cost overruns have almost completely gone away. Thank you. Thank you, Barry. Raoul. Raoul? Well, much like this forum, disagreements are always going to be around, but it's how you handle them. We always had how, as somebody pointed out, you got to remember, we're working for Scottsdale. We're not working against each other. We're not even working for each other. We're working for Scottsdale. So it's how you handle it.

I'm never going to agree with everybody that I sit on council with. But we have to make sure that we are open, that we are talking about it, that we are transparent, So that we can get to the best possible solution for everybody. Thank you. At this point, we're going to go to closing comments. We're going to give you a minute thirty for closing comments. No rebuttals, no. Barry. Well, thank you everybody for being here. Thank you, Scottsdale Independent, for hosting this forum.

It's been a spirited and lively discussion. We've gotten to see a lot of the contrast among the candidates here. And again, I'm Barry Graham, running for city council for re-election. You voted me for four years ago to never not go along to get along and to always put residents first. I voted to stop harmful ideology. I voted against harmful over-development. And I exposed cost overruns. Now, what we're seeing is something we've never seen in our city before.

We are seeing apartment developers spend unprecedented amounts of money, funneling it through a Washington, D.C.-based super PAC to reward Council Member Whitehead and to attack the only people that oppose Axon's high-density agenda. We've never seen this before. We know they can't run on the issues. They can't talk about the issues. They're running from the issues. And so they're attacking us personally. They're attacking us with lies. And they're attacking us with innuendo.

This election is about you. It's about residents controlling and running their city. Not special interest. I'll tell you, if Axon developers are able to defeat the only candidates willing to tell them no, they will never hear no again. And I will again raise the question, I asked Council Member Whitehead, will she finally condemn the quarter of a million dollars, probably going to be double or triple that over this election, funneled through a D.C. super PAC.

Will she finally condemn that super PAC money that's manipulating our election? Thank you. Thank you, Barry. Ethan. Well, first of all, thank you very much to the Scottsdale Independent and J. and to all the residents that came here this evening and to the folks that are watching us at home. I truly appreciate the opportunity to talk to everyone about why I feel that I am a viable candidate and a candidate that you should put on city council.

We do need to understand it's time to stop the antics. It's time to stop the scare tactics. It's time to stop the personal attacks. It's time to stop winning by labeling. It's time to stop winning by lying. We need to actually do what's right for Scottsdale. We need people that are skilled, have the skills and experiences to serve on this council. They need to have the right temperament to serve on this council. They need to have the right energy to serve on this council.

I believe I can bring all of that to this city council. I would be honored to serve the residents of the city of Scottsdale. I do not ever thought that this was going to be on my bucket list in retirement, but I truly do love this city. I'm willing to contribute my time, my talents, and my attention to this city and do what's right for Scottsdale. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bob. Why should you vote for me? Well simple. Because I am the proven performer.

I'm the one who for 25 years of civic involvement, both on the council and as a private citizen, who has stood up for your interests, who has never stood up for special interests. And that's why I keep getting attacked. Barry and Michelle are just getting a taste of that. But I've been there many times over the last 25 years. I could write a book about the stuff I've been called. But that's because I have never stood up for the special interests. I have stood up for you.

And that's why you should vote for me. You know that if I get in, I will not stab you in the back and approve thousands of apartments or do anything else that's bad for you. Vote Bob. Thank you. Michelle. Yeah. I'm Michelle Eugenti Rita, running for Scottsdale City Council. And I want Scottsdale to remain the city that generations of us have built.

We know it as a safe community, the Western heritage, our beautiful neighborhoods, thriving businesses, world-class tourism, exceptional quality of life. But it is at risk. And it has been under the liberal Democratic control that Solange Whitehead has been a part of and has championed. There's no question. I have a long history of defending this community, of protecting Scottsdale to the best of my ability. But now the clarion call is at City Hall.

We need individuals who know how to say no, who won't sell you out to the highest bidder, who understands that we don't want to be Los Angeles, Seattle, that we want to be uniquely Scottsdale. We want thoughtful, conservative representation. Not individuals who don't care about the future, but individuals who know that the time is now, the moment is now. If you can't join the fight now, you're never doing it. If you were elected to City Hall.

There are only three candidates on this stage that have demonstrated they are willing to fight for you. Take the arrows. Take the heat. Because it's important for our future. It's important to my kids and the generations to come that know that Scottsdale will be under quality leadership. I humbly ask for your vote for Scottsdale City Council. Thank you. Thank you so much. So I'm going to paraphrase George Washington. Truth matters. You know, I oppose dark money. I don't need dark money.

And I didn't know about this PAC and I didn't accept any support from this PAC. But I can tell you that we have three people up here who have ridden a tidal wave of dirty dark money and have viciously attacked not only me, I expect that, but also our residents, our business owners, even our city staff. So I'm running for third term so I can keep representing you and so that I can protect our neighbors, keep our city, our neighborhoods, keep our city safe and secure Scottsdale's water future.

I'm running to restore the traditions that made this city a success story, conservatively managing our resources, not lying about it, putting residents first, and continuing to keep Scottsdale a world-class community that welcomes everybody and offers simply better service. I'm running because I love Scottsdale and I absolutely love our community and the fact that we get together, work together, and celebrate together, and we've got to keep that going. Thank you so much. Thank you. Raoul?

I think you've heard today why we are in such a disarray when it comes to Scottsdale. You know, people are just tired of the noise. They want to move on from the chaos. And I'll agree with one on this stage that Scottsdale is a great city. I, too, born here, raised here, still live here, saw this city go from a population of 10,000 to what it is today. And we made some great choices, great decisions moving forward. But I'm not seeing that now.

I am seeing that enviable city that we are state, country, and I would say the world, we're starting to see that pull back a little bit. I'm getting feedback that says, what's happening to your city? And we can't let that happen going forward. So, yes, I, too, want to keep Scottsdale, Scottsdale. I, too, want to keep that enviable city that we have. And the only way to do it is to get me on council because I have lived here, as I said, my whole life.

I understand what it's like to go from a small fledgling city town to what we are today. And I can see through participation and involvement what needs to be done to keep us moving forward. Thank you. Crystal. Look, the reason I'm sitting here today is because I, as a resident, have experienced the way city council treats you firsthand, with threats, harassment, not a good experience and not what you would want for your city council.

Do you notice how when I talked about what people did for careers or challenge them to donate their pay? Anybody? Why not? If you're in it for, to, if you're in it to rep the people, why not donate your pay? Why not tell us how you've been supporting yourself for I don't know how long? But nobody does that. Listen, I have over 20 years of business experience. I have built businesses from the ground up, hands on. I've worked with employees.

I work with all different types of people towards a common goal to get the job done. That is the kind of people you want in city council. It is a $2.1 billion budget. You want people that know how to work together, that know, that want to serve the community, and that don't have political agendas, or they're trying to make some money. We need fresh, new blood. We need independent thinkers that are going to rep you. And lastly, I just want to say, I have been a victim of dark money. Wah!

We all have, okay? You don't hear me crying about it every time. So, if you're in politics, you're going to get attacked, and there are plenty of attacks from my cohorts. So, again, guys, I just encourage you, look at people, look at their history. Thank you. That is the end of our show. And I'd like to thank, once again, the candidates and the audience, and remind everybody that the elections in exactly two weeks. Thank you, J.. Thank you. Thank you very much.