By J. Graber
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There will be no national search for Scottsdale’s new city manager.

The city council voted 5-2 during its April 8 meeting to forgo any search of candidates and hire interim city manager Greg Caton to the position permanently.

He will earn $369,000 a year and will have a provision in his contract that pays him six months salary if he is let go.

City Councilman Barry Graham sang Caton’s praises before the vote.

“We’ve actually had the luxury of doing a test run with Mr. Caton over the last few months, haven’t we? That’s right,” he said.

Graham listed Caton’s accomplishments as flattening the organization by eliminating positions, working with the council’s budget review commission, working well with other charter officers (city staff hired by and answerable only to the city council) and supporting a majority of the council’s decision to call remote city workers back to the office and “widen and deepen the city’s communication channels not only with the city council but also with residents.”

Caton first came to Scottsdale in May 2024, when then city manager Jim Thompson hired him as an assistant city manager after a five-month, national search.

Prior to that, Caton served as city manager in Grand Junction, Colo., and Oro Valley, Ariz., cities with populations of about 69,000 and 48,000 respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“I am truly honored to serve as Scottsdale’s city manager,” Caton said in a written statement dated April 9. “This city has an amazing team, a deep commitment to its residents, and a City Council that provides thoughtful, visionary leadership. I am excited to build on Scottsdale’s great momentum and deliver the world-class services our residents expect and deserve.”
Caton found himself in the interim city manager position in a roundabout manner.

When Thompson left at the end of 2024 to take the city manager position in Loveland, Colo., he named assistant city manager Bill Murphy as the interim city manager position. However, Murphy, who had 32 years of experience with the city, suddenly retired hours before the council’s Jan. 14 meeting, in which it was going to discuss publicly whether they wanted him in the role.

Whitehead said April 9 that Caton proved himself not ready for the position by not reining in the council’s vote earlier in the meeting to switch a planned roundabout at Scottsdale Road and Dynamite Boulevard to a signalized intersection. The move cost the city approximately $31 million in federal grant money, though city officials hope to replace that with other grants.

“The citizens deserve a national search,” Whitehead said. “He would have come out stronger if he was appointed through a national search. And we do need a city manager to be the steady hand to reign in extremes, and the fact that we had a 4-3 vote to forfeit $31 million felt like he was not quite there yet.”

Mayor Lisa Borowsky, who had sided with Whitehead and McAllen on the issue in the past on the need for a national search, switched sides and voted for Caton’s immediate appointment.

“I’ve been candid about abandoning the search we had originally agreed to do, and I still do feel strongly about that, but having said that, Greg Caton, you’ve been very responsive when I’ve asked you to be with citizens and I am going to support your nomination tonight as a showing of support and huge encouragement that you will respond equally to all the council members and all the citizens whole-heartedly and faithfully on behalf of the city.”

There has been criticism among some that Caton was chosen because he aligns with vice-mayor Jan Dubauskas, Graham, and city council members Adam Kwasman and Kathy Littlefield.

That was alluded to by resident Dan Ishacc who spoke during the public comment session of the meeting.

“We owe the residents the best city staff,” Ishaac said. “The only way to ensure top talent is to have a full and objective search by experts evaluating skills and experience rather than because he seems deferential to four of the council members.”

For instance, Caton supported bringing the council majority’s call to bring remote workers back to the office though he could not say at the time how many people the move would affect or offer any data suggesting that would improve customer service.

While Sasha Weller, president of the Scottsdale Firefighters Association, was the only other member of the public to speak on Caton’s appointment, and he supported it.

“Right now what this city needs is some permanence,” Weller said. “It needs steady leadership. It needs a steady hand on the wheel. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Greg over the past 10 months. We don’t always agree on everything but I know him to be an honest man; I know him to be a person of integrity.”

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