Why he matters
David Ortega’s term was short and crowded. An architect, he became mayor in 2021, seventy years after incorporation, just as the visitor economy that had gone dark in 2020 came back harder than anyone forecast. The rebound brought record resort rates and the problems that come with them, and the questions of his four years were ones nobody had put on the 1951 ballot: apartment towers, drought triggers and a tech campus by the freeway.
Where to find his era today
The Civic Center. The renovated Scottsdale Civic Center reopened in 2023, giving Bennie Gonzales’ 1968 buildings their first major refresh as an events venue.
The two big fights
The first was water. On January 1, 2023, Scottsdale stopped selling hauled water to Rio Verde Foothills, whose 500-plus homes outside city limits had relied on trucked Scottsdale water; the story drew worldwide coverage until a standpipe deal restored supply. The second was Axon’s expanded headquarters near Loop 101, approved by the council in 2024 and immediately challenged by referendum petition. The election that ended his term, November 5, 2024, was fought largely on that ground.
The full story
David Ortega took office in 2021, succeeding Jim Lane. Within city limits, the water system held through the Colorado River shortages that triggered the Drought Management Plan; the sharpest edge of the plan fell on an unincorporated community outside them.
Growth was the larger argument. The council’s approval of Axon’s campus, with nearly 2,000 apartments and a hotel, handed the 2024 campaign its defining issue. Lisa Borowsky ran against high-density development and city spending; Ortega defended his record, and she won with about 54%. It was the second consecutive mayoral turnover decided on growth. The rest is in the 2020s chapter.