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Don’t let outsider dark money ruin Scottsdale

BY MAYOR DAVID ORTEGA

Progress Guest Writer

So predictable, outsider Dark Money is attacking Scottsdale! They want to blade Old Town and encroach into the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. They would weaken our family-friendly neighborhoods, cause gridlock in our streets, strangle our tourism, cripple Scottsdale Arts culture and over-burden infrastructure. Together, we must vote Yes on Proposition 463 – Scottsdale General Plan 2035. Dark money wants chaos, by spreading falsehoods they insult our intelligence. Every business, or organization, HOA and household, has a �ive-year and 10-year horizon. Having guiding principles and vision to know our past, present and aspirational future is why Scottsdale is such a great place. Hundreds of residents and stakeholders spent thousands of hours, with staff in full public view to craft General Plan 2035. Outsider dark money is attacking General Plan 2035 from the shadows. General Plan 2035 is not a tax increase. In fact, �inancial diligence and steadfast accountability are written into GP-2035. Outsider Dark Money spreads lies, because they want to exploit and ruin the attributes which make Scottsdale so blessed. Who are the likely suspects in Dark Money? At the City Council meeting on Aug. 26, an apartment lobbyist testi�ied that they will bring “50,400 new apartments to Scottsdale” – then spoke a second time to “object, (complain) that the water and sewer rate increases did not suit us.” As mayor of Scottsdale, I pushed back: “Did I hear you right, bring 50,400 apartments? That is 100,800 new renters to our city of 250,000? And for the record, we are not going to subsidize the apartment builders one dollar for water and sewer fees.” Coincidentally, outsider dark money went into motion to attack Scottsdale. General Plan 2035 is not optional, but mandatory under Arizona law. All other cities around us, are required to reach out, listen to all stakeholders and draft a general plan. Dark money wants to manipulate, to own Scottsdale. Scottsdale GP-2035 has 24 elements, including new sections for tourism, the Preserve and sustainability that are not in the original General Plan 2001, adopted 20 years ago. Dark money is trying to scuttle our best effort to balance critical economic vitality, transportation, parks and recreation, desert preservation, Old Town character and so many other essentials. Outsider dark money wants to sow confusion by attacking our Scottsdale con�idence! To be clear, every councilmember helped to write the General Plan 2035. We worked tirelessly, in public and when �inished, our Council voted unanimously, including Councilwoman Kathy Little�ield, for GP-2035. Then in a separate action, the Council as co-authors, voted again, unanimously, to put GP-2035 on the November ballot. Outsider dark money does not want community planning, honesty, or reason to follow Arizona law. Scottsdale is required to update the General Plan every 10 years. Dark money sees GP-2035 as an obstruction. They are attacking me but I am fearless. Dark money is working with Summit Consulting, their political operatives. But they do not realize that falsehoods will back�ire. I urge every resident, please vote YES on Proposition 463—Scottsdale General Plan 2035. Tell outsider dark money, “You are dead wrong. We are all part of Scottsdale success.”

Letters

Mystery General Plan opponent should come clean

Who is the anonymous group behind the hit piece and negative signs against the Scottsdale General Plan? Who are you and who are your �inancial backers? If you are unwilling to identify yourselves...what is it that you are hiding? Why hasn’t your organization registered with the city? Are you associated with elements of the development community and special interest groups which oppose the new General Plan because it will raise the bar on requirements regarding new developments?

You owe it to this community to come out of the shadows and identify yourselves and your true motivations. The street signs and mailings are �illed with untruths and misinformation. Many of us are unhappy with the number of new apartments, their density and their height. The new General Plan proposal will further protect our Scottsdale neighborhoods by adding more development costs and greater limitations on development. It requires higher design standards, more open space and many other community bene�its. And most importantly, it further protects our Preserve. Vote YES on proposition 463. -Larry Manross

SUSD Governing Board meeting was not ‘rowdy’

I recently read the Scottsdale Progress article entitled “SUSD Board Wants Meeting Decorum,” (J. Graber, Sept. 19) and do not understand the basis for the assertion that “the Aug. 24 meeting’s call for public comment grew rowdy as people voiced their displeasure with the (mask) mandate.” That meeting was, for all intents and purposes, closed to the public since the public wasn’t allowed to listen in on the deliberations – unless they had access outside of the meeting via electronic means. Only one speaker was allowed in the meeting at a time; no other members of the public were allowed in to listen. Therefore, how could the meeting’s call for public comment have become “rowdy” when only one member of the public was allowed inside at a time? The assertion is false. Nevertheless, this governing board has previously demanded the public speak only about those topics the board wishes to hear, in the manner the board wishes to allow, and in a tone the board wishes them to speak – despite board President Greenburg’s previous assertions that personally criticizing board members is a First Amendment right, even if it’s “tasteless” (Jann-Michael Greenburg, letter to then SUSD Superintendent Kriekard, 2/4/2019). Thus, Cienowski’s desire to “counter excesses among any unhappy community members” is a displaced and presumably unconstitutional effort to “depersonalize“ – as Greenburg now calls it – comments she claims to have received outside of board meetings while the board continues its attempt to silence the voices of frustrated parents and community members.