Scottsdale voters will have lots of candidates to choose from, whether they vote by mail or venture out to the polls, for the city’s Aug. 4, Primary Election.

Scottsdale Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane has reached his term limit and will not be able to seek reelection in August.

The next mayor will be one of the five current or former city council members who are vying for his office.

Suzanne Klapp, and Virginia Korte are both current city council members whose current term began in Jan. 2017.  Klapp has served three terms on the city council and prides herself on her commitment to what she refers to as “inclusive style” governance.  Korte, a long-time Scottsdale resident, served a key role in establishing the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in 2000.

Lisa Borowsky, Bob Littlefield and David “Dave” Ortega are the three former council members who will fill out the mayoral ballot in 2020.  Borowsky served on the city council from 2009-2013, she is a local attorney and active in the leadership of the Scottsdale Charros.  Littlefield, Founder and President of NetXpert Systems, Inc., a Scottsdale-based computer company is stressing a campaign of fiscal responsibility.  Ortega, a local architect, was a councilman from 2000-2004 and is committed to protecting neighborhoods from a “proliferation of short-term rentals and massive block apartments”, according to their candidate profiles.

There are three city council positions available this election cycle.  With Klapp and Korte both running for mayor, only Guy Phillips will be seeking reelection to the City Council.

Scottsdale’s City Council was in the news last month when Phillips used the phrase “I can’t breathe”, twice, as he was addressing a group at an anti-mask rally.

Many, including Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane and Gov. Doug Ducey criticized Phillips use of the phrase, uttered by George Floyd before he died at the hands of Minneapolis Police.  Others called for Phillips to resign over the inappropriate comments.  But Phillips, who later apologized for what he said, announced Tuesday that he would not resign his position on the city council and continue to seek reelection in August.

Michael Aurbach, Tammy Caputi, Bill Crawford, Tom Durham, Betty Janik, Becca Linnig, John Little and Kevin Maxwell are the other eight candidates running for city council.