Scottsdale Mayor Ortega concedes defeat and voters dump incumbents

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

Ortega’s fate was sealed after several ballots were counted late Wednesday night, and Borowski’s lead did not budge.

Scottsdale voters were also in the process of ousting two incumbent council members in a conservative insurgency of candidates opposed to the status quo at City Hall.

Scottsdale voters also strongly supported a pair of local measures, a parks tax and an increase in the spending cap.

In the mayoral race, both candidates were highly critical of each other’s leadership in a heated race that has involved barb-throwing each other throughout 2024. But Ortega struck 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 came up short, I thank each and every voter, volunteer and friend for their support. I congratulate the mayor. -vote Borowsky for her victory,” read Ortega’s admission Wednesday night in the email.

“Ahe and I disagreed greatly on many issues during this campaign, but I recognize her commitment to the residents of Scottsdale and wish her well,” Ortega added.

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

In the city council race for two open seats, challengers Adam Kwasman and Maryann McAllen had a slight lead over incumbent Tammy Caputi, who finished third. Councilman Tom Durham, who suddenly dropped out of the race late in the campaign to support Caputi and McAllen, who was trailing in a distant fourth place.

McAllen, a political newcomer, 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 unofficial until local and state officials have counted all ballots and certified the results. The vote counting continues.

As of Thursday morning, Maricopa County had counted more than 1.5 million ballots, according to county election officials. They put the total voter turnout at about 2.1 million and estimate there are about 600,000 ballots left to count. The uncounted ballots include those mailed in or turned in in the days leading up to Election Day and provisional ballots and those that must be cured, meaning election officials must match signatures.

Arizona allows voters to drop off early ballots at polling places on Election Day, and those ballots still need to be processed and verified before they can be counted. Full, unofficial results are currently expected between November 15th and November 18th. Races may be called earlier, depending on margins and the number of early votes to be counted.

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

Scottsdale voters have decided the fate of two ballot initiatives. Both were on their way to landslide 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 ‘yes’ votes.

Election 2024: See the Arizona election results

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

Durham’s surprise announcement Iis directly tied to the central issue dominating Scottsdale’s candidate election this year: a battle between a rival 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 over alleged fiscal irresponsibility and overdevelopment. They often talk about reducing what they see as wasteful spending and are likely to work to scale back many existing city initiatives if elected.

Based on the current composition of the council, Ortega’s concession to Borowsky ensures that the opposition list will have a majority in the new city council.

And if the trend from Thursday morning holds, the opposition slate is on track to secure a powerful council majority.

Kwasman said the initial results were “very surprising. Not what anyone expected,” especially when it came to Ortega coming up short. He described the 2024 election cycle in Scottsdale as “a year against power.”

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 stronger … I expected her to get the top vote. But again, I think that’s the kind of Republican wave,” said Durham, who also endorsed McAllen, when he dropped out of the race. “There was also a lot of negative campaigning … It looks like she may have been damaged by that.”

As for the mayoral race, Durham said he expected Ortega to receive more of Linda Milhaven’s share of the primary vote. Milhaven was the third mayoral candidate to fall short of votes in the July primary, but she and Ortega generally resemble Borowsky more than either of them.

However, the unofficial election results had a silver lining for Durham. He pointed to the city’s two ballot measures receiving overwhelming support, saying “both of those are much more important than any particular person on the council. So I’m very happy about that.”

The two Scottsdale-specific ballots on this year’s ticket are slated to have a significant impact on the city’s future. Here’s a more specific breakdown of what both would do if approved by voters:

  • 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 the proposal.
  • Proposition 491 would increase a state-imposed city spending cap by $271 million to avoid cutting city services in future years. It allows the city to spend more of the money 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 come in.

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