OPINION — I served on Scottsdale's Planning Commission when Axon asked to approve roughly 1,900 apartments at Hayden and the Loop 101. I read every page of the plans. I listened to the residents. And I voted no.
What followed was documented in a letter from the city attorney: pressure aimed at my private employer over that vote. I raise it not for sympathy, but because voters should understand how this fight has been waged.
Residents responded the right way, by gathering more than 26,000 signatures to put Axon's rezoning before voters. Axon didn't take its case to the voters. It took it to the Capitol. SB 1543 voided the referendum, and the election residents earned never reached a ballot.
