Seven seats, one city
Scottsdale’s elected government is small on purpose. The city charter creates a mayor and six council members, and that is the whole of it: no districts, no party labels, no separately elected clerk or treasurer. All seven are elected at large, so a voter in south Scottsdale and one in Pinnacle Peak cast ballots in the same races. The mayor chairs meetings and speaks for the city but has exactly one vote, the same as each member.
Terms run four years and are staggered. Three council seats are elected in one even-numbered year; the mayor and the other three seats come up two years later. The charter caps everyone at three consecutive elected terms. As of 2026 the council is Mayor Lisa Borowsky with council members Jan Dubauskas, Barry Graham, Adam Kwasman, Kathy Littlefield, Maryann McAllen and Solange Whitehead.
How a seat is won
Scottsdale races are nonpartisan and ride on the state’s election calendar, with a summer primary and a November general. The twist is that the primary can end the race. A candidate who wins a majority is elected on the spot. For council, the city calculates that majority by dividing all the votes cast in the race by the number of open seats and halving it, because each voter can pick several candidates. Seats nobody wins outright go to November, where the ballot carries no more than two candidates per open seat, the top finishers from the primary.
What the council does
The council is the city’s legislature. It adopts ordinances, the budget and tax rates, the General Plan and every rezoning, and it appoints the six charter officers, led by the city manager who runs the departments. It also fills the city’s volunteer boards and commissions, which is often a resident’s first step toward the dais; the guide to taking part explains how to apply.
Inside the Kiva
The council meets in the Kiva, the round, sunken chamber at the heart of Bennie Gonzales’ 1968 City Hall on the Civic Center. Regular meetings are usually held twice a month on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., and they air live on the city’s Scottsdale Video Network (Cox channel 11) and online.
Every agenda splits into two tracks. The consent agenda bundles routine items, such as contracts and uncontested approvals, that pass in one vote unless a member pulls one out for discussion. The regular agenda gets the full treatment: a staff presentation, council questions, public comment of up to three minutes per speaker, then debate and a vote. Rezonings add an applicant presentation. A separate open call to the public lets residents raise items that aren’t on the agenda, capped at twelve speakers.
Work study sessions are the council’s seminar. Staff brief members on a big issue, members talk it through less formally, and they can give direction, but no binding votes are taken. They are often the best preview of where a policy is headed.
The vice mayor and the pay
The vice mayor presides when the mayor is absent. Under the council’s rules the title rotates in eight-month turns among the members elected at the most recent election, ordered by tenure first and then by who won outright in the primary. The charter sets council salaries; as of early 2026 the city listed them at $5,242 a month for the mayor and $3,189 a month for members, part-time pay for work that routinely runs past 10 p.m.
A short list of mayors
Scottsdale’s mayors map its growth. Malcolm White, owner of Whitey’s cafe, was appointed the first mayor when the town incorporated in 1951. The charter council that followed in 1961 turned the booster town into a professionally managed city. Herb Drinkwater held the office for sixteen years, from 1980 to 1996, as the city annexed north. Sam Kathryn Campana (1996–2000) presided as the Preserve purchases began; Mary Manross (2000–2008) led through the vertical boom and the 2004 preserve vote; Jim Lane (2009–2021) steered the recession rebound and the Prop 420 era; David Ortega (2021–2025) served one term; and Lisa Borowsky unseated him on November 5, 2024.
Why the rules matter
At-large elections with a majority-wins primary produce a particular kind of politics. There is no district to fall back on and no party organization to carry a candidate, so the winners are the ones who assemble a citywide coalition, usually around growth. The 2020s show it plainly: two straight mayoral turnovers argued over apartments, building heights and the council’s approval of Axon’s headquarters campus, a fight the 2020s chapter and the voters guide follow into the legislature.
The 2026 cycle
Three seats were up in 2026: those of Barry Graham, Kathy Littlefield and Solange Whitehead. Littlefield, first elected in 2014, had served three consecutive terms and could not run. Eight candidates filed, and in the July 21, 2026 primary Whitehead cleared the majority threshold and was re-elected outright. Four finishers advanced for the remaining two seats, but former council member Bob Littlefield withdrew on August 4, leaving Barry Graham, Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Raoul Zubia on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The winners join the council at its first regular meeting in January 2027. The mayor’s office and the other three seats come up in 2028. Results posted after this page’s verification date belong on the city clerk’s elections page, and the Maricopa County elections guide explains how the ballots are counted.