A commission, and a mayor’s suggestion
On August 4, 1986 the council created a Charter Review Advisory Commission of fourteen residents, chaired by former councilman Charlie Smith, with former mayor Bill Jenkins and the future councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith among its members. It met 24 times over eight months. On June 29, 1987, the City Clerk’s history says, Mayor Herb Drinkwater suggested that all of its recommendations go before the voters, and on November 2, 1987 the council adopted Ordinance 1984 putting fifteen of them on the February ballot.
What voters decided
On February 16, 1988, the same day Drinkwater was re-elected without an opponent on the ballot, voters passed twelve of the fifteen:
| Question | Subject | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Power to protect the environment | 12,799 | 3,024 |
| 2 | Water supply and groundwater recharge, inside and outside the city | 11,612 | 4,042 |
| 3 | Liens for unpaid water and city services | 8,197 | 7,537 |
| 4 | Wastewater and effluent | 11,581 | 3,912 |
| 5 | Private contracts for garbage collection | 12,805 | 2,912 |
| 6 | Three-term limit for mayor and council | 10,043 | 5,640 |
| 7 | Drop the real-property requirement for office | 5,308 | 10,380 |
| 8 | Six consecutive years on city boards | 12,602 | 2,981 |
| 9 | Transfer of appropriations | 10,341 | 4,972 |
| 10 | Who signs city contracts | 5,887 | 9,437 |
| 11 | Purchasing and bids by ordinance | 8,555 | 6,713 |
| 12 | Drop the real-property-taxpayer requirement for bond votes | 6,591 | 8,943 |
| 13 | City judge and judges pro tem | 12,124 | 2,744 |
| 14 | Internal auditor reporting to the council | 8,959 | 6,485 |
| 15 | Upkeep of the outside of private property | 8,175 | 7,048 |
Each side in its own words
The city’s publicity pamphlet printed arguments for each question from the commission’s majority and arguments against from two residents, Gordon E. Fitzgerald, a write-in candidate for mayor that day, and Bill O’Donnell, a council candidate.
On term limits the commission wrote: “A three term limitation for the Office of Mayor and Councilmen will provide opportunities for additional Scottsdale residents to seek office, while allowing sufficient time in office for continuity of political leadership.” Fitzgerald and O’Donnell answered: “If two terms are maximum to be President of the USA, that should be the limit for city government. Longer terms invite stagnation of ideas and ‘political’ partnerships not always in the best interest of the citizens. We would support 2 terms if submitted.”
On the property rule the commission wrote that it “excludes Scottsdale residents who rent or lease their home,” and the Clerk’s history adds that it recommended the change “because it was in conflict with the U.S. Constitution.” The opponents: “We feel it is essential that those persons who are legislating increased taxes should also be in the position of having to pay same.” Voters sided with them, and also kept the rule that only real-property taxpayers vote on bonds.
On the auditor the roles were reversed. The commission’s majority argued that an internal auditor reporting to the council “violates the basic philosophy of the ‘Council/Manager’ form of government”; Fitzgerald and O’Donnell called it “a reform long overdue.” It passed.
What followed
Drinkwater certified the results, City Clerk Roy Pederson certified them on March 16, and Governor Rose Mofford, in office a month since the Senate removed Evan Mecham, approved them on May 3, 1988. The term limit counted only from the 1992 mayoral election, so Drinkwater’s first three terms did not count; he retired in 1996 after four. The 1980s politics chapter sets the vote beside the decade’s other charter fights, and the charter guide explains how the city’s charter works today.