Who is on the Scottsdale City Council? What to know about the members
Scottsdale is one of Arizona's most affluent cities and is a well-known tourist destination. The local government also consistently makes headlines for everything from its water policies to housing costs.
Scottsdale's City Council is made up of six members who are elected in citywide races, rather than district-specific ones. They all serve four-year "staggered" terms, meaning half of the council goes up for reelection every two years, and they can only sit on the council for three consecutive terms before having to bow out for the next cycle.
The city's leadership has completely flipped its direction over the past decade as the majority of its members are serving their first four-year term.
They've taken the city from a pro-development community to one that limits apartment construction to preserve Scottsdale's reputation as a tourist destination, for example. The city also made big strides in water conservation to the detriment of some nearby neighbors.
The City Council members are one of the residents' only lines of defense against everything from rising housing costs to disruptive short-term rentals. Here's who they are.
Vice Mayor Kathy Littlefield
Littlefield is one of the longest-serving officials on Scottsdale's current City Council. The Scottsdale native was first elected in 2014 and is now serving her third consecutive term, meaning she will not be eligible for reelection during the next contest for her spot in 2027.
She and her husband, Bob, who was also a council member from 2002 to 2015, run a computer company in Scottsdale called NetXpert Systems. Littlefield has also worked in budget management for a city in Texas, as an office manager for a local photography business and as a finance director for a Scottsdale-based nonprofit.
Tammy Caputi
Caputi is serving her first term on Scottsdale's City Council and will be eligible for reelection in 2024. She is the city's lone pro-development official who frequently pushes against her colleagues' reluctance to permit new apartments, often citing Scottsdale's astronomical housing costs that have largely boxed out middle-class workers.
She is one of Scottsdale's youngest sitting leaders whose experience includes serving three years on the city's Development Review Board before her election in 2020. Caputi is the president and owner of Yale Electric West, a distribution company for commercial-grade electrical equipment that she founded in 2001.
Betty Janik
Janik is the council's resident scientist who has been an outspoken proponent of Scottsdale's environmental conservation and water-saving policies. The Chicago native is a chemist by trade who previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry before taking a role as a high school math and science teacher for nearly a decade.
Janik is also a long-time community volunteer whose work ranges from developing classes at the Arizona Science Center to spearheading the passage of Scottsdale's conservation-focused Proposition 420, which ensured the protection of a large chunk of preserve land within the city's limits. She will be eligible for reelection in 2024.
Tom Durham
Durham is a retired lawyer who is serving his first term on the City Council. He is another conservation-minded official and close ally of Janik, with whom he worked to get Prop. 420 on Scottsdale's ballot two years before the pair of first-term council members were elected.
The Iowa native spent his career working as a "tax controversy" lawyer for the international firm Mayer Brown before retiring in 2015. Durham will be eligible for reelection in 2024.
Solange Whitehead
Aside from Littlefield, Whitehead is the only multiterm official sitting on Scottsdale's current City Council. The Californian first secured her council seat in 2018 and won reelection last year. She will be up for her third consecutive council term in 2026.
An electrical engineer and avid conservationist, Whitehead was another driving force behind the passage of Prop. 400 in 2018. She has been named “Conservationist of the Year” by the Arizona Wildlife Federation and consistently champions city policies such as Scottsdale's mandated environmentally friendly building codes.
Barry Graham
Graham is Scottsdale's newest City Council member, having secured the position for the first time just last year when he beat his opponent by a double-digit margin. Similar to the majority of his council colleagues, Graham is a limited-development official who prioritized preserving the city's character during his campaign.
The Scottsdale lifer is an accountant who has served on Scottsdale's Planning Commission since 2020. He will be eligible for reelection in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is on the Scottsdale City Council? What to know about the members
