“The Independent asks what the candidates want to see improved within the Scottsdale community.”
— Melissa Rosequist, Scottsdale Independent
If you are elected, what one or two ideas do you have to improve the Scottsdale community?
If elected, I want to revive and diversify our economy. We need to get people back to work, and our kids back to school. Forty-seven percent of our revenue comes from sales tax; 30% of our 260,000 workforce is in entertainment, tourism and similar “at-risk” jobs, which have been decimated during the recent pandemic. We must look to new revenue sources and pivot to new opportunities. Only 23% of our labor force is low-risk for job loss. Attracting technology companies and developing medical, biotech, insurance, aerospace and higher education industries is a priority. We have almost 200 startup technology companies in Scottsdale, and 30,000 jobs in the Cure Corridor and health services. It’s a great start. Let’s make Scottsdale where these companies choose to locate; we need to be open for business.
I also want to address attainable housing. It’s an issue across the city and the nation. Workforce housing is a question of political will. The citizens of Scottsdale have to say “yes in my back yard.” There are tasteful, well-designed, and affordable examples all over the country. The taxpayers and the city need to partner with investors to locate these projects appropriately in our community. The benefit is our teachers, medical services personnel and first responders can live in the community they serve. That leads to a more robust community. It also decreases our traffic and parking problems; 150,000 people commute to our city to work every day. I’d like to support this effort and hope the citizens feel that way too.
What is one city/community aspect that you like, and would like to build upon?
Scottsdale has excellent school systems, which is very important to me as a homeowner and mother of three children in our schools, but we can do better collaborating with them. I want to have an education subcommittee in service between the City Council and the school districts. A thriving city needs strong schools that raise our property values and attract residents and businesses.
The city and school leaders should share information on economic development, land use, enrollment and demographics. This way we can deliver better services that allow for the high quality of life that we enjoy. We need to ensure that students can get a quality education, a meaningful path to employment and great jobs right here at home, in Scottsdale.
The only barrier to better school-city teamwork is our own imagination. The current COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need for the city and the schools to work together towards common solutions, using shared resources. We can use this emergency as an opportunity to replace old systems with new and better ones; we can build back more prosperous, more prepared, and more equal.
Where does Scottsdale need improvement? And, how would you like to see it changed?
Our community needs less “us vs. them” thinking, and more about how to work together; how to balance our economic drivers and our tax base with our open spaces and our neighborhoods. We need less “silos” and more communication between residents, commissions and the City Council about what makes sense economically and for the neighbors. Earlier and more aggressive outreach to bring neighbors into the collaboration. This also will help our efforts for updating the general plan. I will strive for diverse representation from different neighborhoods and backgrounds on city commissions.
Scottsdale needs to be open for business. If we tell investors in our future to go elsewhere, they will. Scottsdale’s winning economic formula is high amenities, strong property values, and low property taxes. Our city government depends on sales and tourism taxes. In order to maintain this, we must work together to stay vibrant and relevant. We have an amazing city, and we want to evolve to maintain our excellence for future generations. Being “resident friendly” means that we maintain quality of life for our residents. We can’t drive away our sources of revenue; this simply drives up our tax rates and decreases our amenities. Our leaders should be creative and open-minded; they should not have their minds made up ahead of time, and “NO” should not be a council member’s default position. This is not the path to a prosperous future.
