Why she matters
Lisa Borowsky’s election made growth the decisive question in 2020s Scottsdale politics. An attorney and former councilwoman, she ran squarely against high-density apartment development and city spending, and on November 5, 2024, about 54 percent of voters chose her over the incumbent, David Ortega. It was the second mayoral turnover in a row decided on that argument.
Where to find her era today
Her term is still being written. The places to read it are the 2020s chapter and the new West era, which cover the Axon dispute and the growth debate that framed her election.
The election
November 5, 2024 tells the story of the race: the council’s approval of Axon’s expanded campus near Loop 101, with nearly 2,000 apartments and a hotel; the referendum petition with more than 20,000 signatures; and a challenger who ran on a slower Scottsdale. The 2025 page covers what came next.
The full story
Lisa Borowsky came to the mayor’s race as an attorney and a former member of the City Council. She challenged one-term incumbent David Ortega in 2024, as the Axon headquarters approval made growth the campaign’s defining issue, and she won with about 54%.
She was sworn in in January 2025 pledging limits on high-rise apartment growth. The election’s biggest issue then left the city’s hands: Axon paused its groundbreaking, and in 2025 state lawmakers passed legislation letting the project proceed without the local vote. How the argument over local control and growth plays out from here is the open question of the decade.