{"id":2757,"date":"2026-07-03T14:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:04:09","slug":"pac-spends-more-than-250000-to-oppose-3-scottsdale-city-council-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757","title":{"rendered":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

SCOTTSDALE, AZ \u2014 A newly formed political action committee has spent more than a quarter-million dollars so far to defeat three candidates in the Scottsdale City Council race and support two other candidates.<\/p>\n

Read more New\u00a0water-sharing\u00a0program aims at protecting AZ communities\u00a0from\u00a0shortages<\/a><\/p>\n

Better Together, a political action committee, provided ABC15 with its first campaign finance report. It shows the PAC is spending money to oppose incumbent candidate Barry Graham and challengers Bob Littlefield and Michelle Ugenti-Rita.<\/p>\n

Scottsdale\u2019s primary race got underway last week. Eight candidates are running for three open seats on the council.<\/p>\n

Records show Better Together has spent money supporting two candidates: Incumbent candidate Solange Whitehead and challenger Eric Sloan.<\/p>\n

Filings show the contributions are coming solely from National Horizon Inc., a conservative super PAC in Alexandria, Virginia, that supports Republican candidates. Records show contributions from National Horizon totaled $335,000 in the reporting period from May 3 through June 30.<\/p>\n

Expenses by Better Together totaled $264,000. The money was spent mainly on communications and advertising.<\/p>\n

In a statement to ABC15, Better Together\u2019s Treasurer David Leibowitz said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money in this report was spent because Barry Graham, Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Bob Littlefield have records that have repeatedly raised concerns about their judgment, ethics, honesty and leadership. Scottsdale voters deserve to know that before Election Day.”<\/p>\n

Read more MOST ACCURATE FORECAST: Poor air quality and toasty for the Fourth of July<\/a><\/p>\n

Leibowitz is a former spokesman for Axon.<\/p>\n

Graham, Ugenti-Rita and Littlefield have accused Axon,<\/u> the company that makes Tasers, of being behind Better Together\u2019s campaign. The financial report shows no contributions from individuals.<\/p>\n

Graham told ABC15:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears they are going to extreme lengths to hide funding sources. But the connection to Axon is undeniable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Axon has emerged as a key issue of debate in this year\u2019s Scottsdale City Council race.<\/p>\n

Graham previously opposed a plan by Axon to rezone land in north Scottsdale, where the company plans to build a corporate headquarters and 1,200 apartments and condos. Those plans are now on hold pending the outcome of two legal challenges. Littlefield and Ugenti-Rita have also opposed the expansion.<\/p>\n

Email ABC15 Reporter Anne Ryman\u202fat\u00a0<\/i>anne.ryman@abc15.com<\/u>, call her at 602-685-6345, or\u00a0connect on X<\/u>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Man found not guilty in shooting death of Red Mountain HS football player<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newly formed political action committee has spent more than a quarter-million dollars so far to defeat three candidates in the Scottsdale City Council race and support two other candidates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scottsdale-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A newly formed political action committee has spent more than a quarter-million dollars so far to defeat three candidates in the Scottsdale City Council race and support two other candidates.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"headline\":\"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Scottsdale News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757\",\"name\":\"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg\",\"width\":1078,\"height\":608,\"caption\":\"Screenshot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2757#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona Moving Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider","og_description":"A newly formed political action committee has spent more than a quarter-million dollars so far to defeat three candidates in the Scottsdale City Council race and support two other candidates.","og_url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757","og_site_name":"Arizona Moving Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb"},"headline":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates","datePublished":"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757"},"wordCount":395,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg","articleSection":["Scottsdale News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757","name":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates - Arizona Moving Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-03T14:04:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dd88999dff3e888ef0d67bdaa451e776.jpg","width":1078,"height":608,"caption":"Screenshot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2757#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PAC spends more than $250,000 to oppose 3 Scottsdale City Council candidates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/","name":"Arizona Moving Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}