Crucial Scottsdale Primary

The majority block on the Scottsdale City Council has sidetracked the city bigly. Following the 2024 election, this majority took a hard right turn and has not looked back.

Hi. Victoria Kauzlarich, here - former LD3 Chair and long-time PC in Grayhawk Precinct - resurrecting “Searching for Scottsdale” after a year-long involuntary hiatus.

I’m back now, catching up on a year’s worth of events and dreadful decisions made by our new City Council majority.

We soon face a primary election with 3 Dems running to fill 3 council seats in a nonpartisan race.  If all 3 candidates win - just like that - we recapture the majority. If all of them win outright in the primary, they win the election outright.  No general election required. Sound far-fetched? Maybe, but if we don’t try, we can’t win.

There’s a lot of good news, here. Buckle up. We’re about to put a smile on your face and some warmth in your heart. This is your chance to make a difference, also bigly.  Why? There are two reasons:

1. Primary turnout in Scottsdale is less than 40%. This means that EVERY vote has a greater impact because there are so few votes cast.

   
   

2. There are 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats running. Republican votes will be spread across 5 candidates to our 3. 

You likely know that here in LD3, Dems turnout in record numbers - the highest turnout in the state - 92% in 2024. 

Still, we fall far short in primaries. Why? For openers, our primaries are in the summer. Many voters in our district leave for the summer and don’t know that their ballots will not be forwarded to them. More about that in a minute.

Making matters worse, Independent (no party affiliation) voters must formally request a primary ballot just to vote in a primary election. Independents are an essential part of LD3's voter coalition. Getting as many Indies to join us in this primary is essential for our success.

35% of Scottsdale voters are registered Independents

And, here’s the double whammy… When Independent voters leave for the summer, they must request a ballot AND submit a temporary address request to receive it. Suddenly, these barriers prevent voting entirely.

How do we fight back? We treat this primary as if it were the general election. We'll be canvassing, phone banking, writing post cards and dropping lit throughout all of our Scottsdale precincts - all in the service of boosting turnout as much as possible.

We have a LOT of work to do in a short period of time. That work starts today. Start talking up this election with friends, neighbors and family. Tell them how important it is and how all of us, working together, can make a difference.

Starting today, “Searching for Scottsdale” is back weekly to share ways for you to become involved to boost turnout and make city history. Join us, won’t you? Thanks.

When you love this city, you fight for the people who make it work.