L ike a fictitious early 20th century sailor, newly elected Scottsdale officials hardly seem to know what kind of ship they are boarding. They could be signing on for the kind of sturdy steamer described early in “The Death Ship,” a 1926 novel by B. Traven: “a fine ship, an excellent ship, true and honest down to the bilge.” By another flip of the coin, the Scottsdale City Council members might find themselves riding the wreck of Traven’s eponymous craft, a leaky old bucket where “everything is busted and broken.” Three council representatives have sailed with the tide – and into perfect storms. At a May 13 retreat, a facilitator gamely attempted to get Scottsdale City Council rowing in unison. That was a tough sell for Mayor Lisa Borowsky, the rookie captain of this ship who complained at a recent meeting of mutiny, stating, “You’re aggressively undermining me.” The retreat had hardly started when Borowsky attempted to gain control of the wheel. The winds have shifted and seas grown choppy in this desert dale. In 2023 and 2024, City Council sailed hard to port side. The left-leaning majority accelerated a program for recycled water (“toilets to taps”), expanded diversity efforts, pumped up a homeless shelter program, approved over 3,500 apartment units, baked “road diet” redesigns into its roundabout-heavy road plans, hired diversity and sustainability directors and launched the city’s first “Sustainability Plan.” Conservatives Barry Graham and Kathy Littlefield probably felt like swabs on a “death ship,” consistently taking 5-2 lashings. The November elections strongly suggested voters were ready for a right shift. Incumbent Mayor David Ortega took a plank-walk at Borowsky’s sword. Always-with-the-majority council representatives Tammy Caputi, Tom Durham and Betty Janik (who did not run) were replaced by left-leaning Maryann McAllen and hard-right Jan Dubauskas and Adam Kwasman. Thus, Graham and Littlefield were joined by Dubauskas and Kwasman as an unofficial “block of four” that has been dominating votes. A series of stinging losses over the last four months likely left Councilwoman Solange Whitehead and McAllen feeling like lowly coal draggers on a failing freighter. Scottsdale City Council held its annual retreat – but for the first time featuring an outside consultant. Borowsky, meanwhile, played the part of a captain overrun by a rebellious crew. •By a 4-3 vote, Council transferred two staff members who had been reporting to Borowsky away from her. Staring down Kwasman, who made the motion leading to transfer two of her three staffers, Borowsky alleged: “You and a couple other members want to continue to undermine the mayor.” Traven, or whoever really wrote “The Death Ship,” would nod grimly at the list above. This year’s Scottsdale City Council sounds a bit like Traven’s abysmal ship, as described by a coal shoveler: “Steam doesn’t stay. See? Pipes are leaking. Furnaces rotten, see?” Like a cheery, well-compensated inspector, Julie Lancaster came aboard the SS Scottsdale. “Would you all turn to the people who are sitting beside you – and with both enthusiasm and authenticity, will you tell them how glad you are that they are here with you today?” This was a stark contrast to recent retreats, which featured dry, just-the-facts presentations from then-City Manager Jim Thompson and key department heads. This consultant/facilitator format was a first. The new craft had a rocky launch, appearing on the verge of sinking. After an introduction by Caton, a mutinous Borowsky rejected the format. “You referred to this as ‘our agenda’ – but this is the first time I’ve seen this document,” she called over to Caton. “For me, the agenda should have been…how the council can work together as best possible to serve the residents of Scottsdale.” “A number one issue on my mind – and I believe the residents that focus closely on City Hall is – is the difficulties that the council has had in working together.” Giving in for the moment, Borowsky yielded to Lancaster. “While each interview brought unique insights, several common themes emerged. Council members consistently emphasized the need to improve the relationships among the council, improve internal processes and prioritize capital projects that have been backlogged.” The facilitator went over her plan for the meeting, noting “We’re not going to do team building.” “Why not?” Borowsky demanded. After an explanation from Caton, the mayor said her priority was team building – stressing constituents have been shocked by the dramas at City Hall. Caton responded by saying he looked at previous retreats in coming up with a meeting that would focus on goals. “All the discussions you and I had,” Borowsky interjected, interrupting the city manager, “were focused on helping Council work in a more cohesive fashion . . . effective City Council relationships and team building was the number one priority.” As Lancaster was trying to ease the bubbling tension, Borowsky again jumped in. “It sounds like you received direction from Greg Caton that we were not going to focus on relationship or team building, and that’s unfortunate,” the mayor said, “because that’s not at all what I understood this process would be. “So with that, you’re not prepared,” the mayor told the consultant. “So we’ll proceed in the direction you’ve been given by Caton.” Caton politely disputed that. “Madam Mayor, that’s a misrepresentation of the process,” he said. The mayor was not giving in on her point. “Turning this into another version of a council meeting was not at all the expectation,” Borowsky said. She suggested that the city manager “talked to other council members and decided to switch gears.” Reluctant, but not to the point of scuttling the meeting, Borowsky gave up the steering wheel. “The opportunity to make Scottsdale the best place ever in the country, even better than it already is, which is, which is a big challenge.” “I love the opportunity to be a cheerleader for Scottsdale,” she said. Lancaster asked the team to reflect on the year, so far. One of the S.S. Scottsdale’s sailors puffed up sails – while another let off steam. Graham reveled – perhaps even to a gloating level – in win after win to start the year. “This council has been one of the most productive councils, I think, in decades,” Graham said, raving over a “profound amount of promise keeping … I’ve never seen anything like it, at any level of government.” Without naming them, he tipped his cap to shipmates who “made promises to constituents” and delivered on them with their votes. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done with the budget, what we’ve done with hiring a city manager, the amount of production we’ve done in just a few months is incredible and exceptional,” Graham said. After listening to Graham with a “what planet are you on?” look, Whitehead gave an alternative year-to-date recap. “This hasn’t been my favorite council,” Whitehead said. “We’ve lost the sustainability plan. We’ve lost diversity programs. “We lost about 200 years of institutional knowledge,” the councilwoman said, alluding to retirements and resignations of multiple key department heads. Lukewarmly attempting a positive spin, Whitehead allowed the new majority has brought “a different way of looking at issues that I feel are community priorities.” “Never in my life have I seen Council voting in a block,” she decried. The choppy sailing continued when Lancaster gave an overview of six questions she previously asked council members, asking for 1-10 scores of each. As such, the highest score for each would be 70, with the lowest a 7. Borowsky focused on Question Six: “What is the current team culture of this council? What is one thing you might personally do to move the needle in the right direction?” The mayor wanted to know the total score of that question. When Dubauskas jumped in to try to redirect, Borowsky stood firm – then did the same as Graham asked to move on. After back and forth between Lancaster, Borowsky and Caton, the consultant revealed the score: 13. “You’ve worked with over 131 government agencies,” Borowsky said to Lancaster, referring to her bio. “Where does 13 fall?” “Very low,” Lancaster said. “Have you ever seen lower?” “No.” “It is unfortunate you’re not focusing on that,” the mayor stated. The last portion of the retreat was spent on relatively mundane presentations: compensation for Scottsdale police and other employees; capital improvement projects, transportation, etc. Short-term goals were discussed, as well as future planning. Indeed, good navigators must search for dangers dead ahead, while keeping an eye on the horizon. With a spyglass view, Whitehead noted this City Council – like the many it has followed – is far from permanent. “Politicians come and go,” as she put it. Indeed, three council seats will be open soon. Whitehead and Graham have four-year hitches ending at the beginning of 2027, with each expected to run for reelection. Littlefield also is on the back end of a 2022 election victory, but is “termed out” and is not eligible for reelection.
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