The Scottsdale City Clerk just announced that packets for City Council candidates are now available. If you’ve always been interested in politics and you are sitting around with nothing better to do…stay at home and keep eating bonbons. However, if you’ve ever shaken your head with dismay about some goofy thing the city is doing, or been incensed at the way the City Council is treating the citizens and neighborhoods…we’ve got a job for you. Get your packet today!
UPDATE: Beth Duckett posted a well-detailed article this morning (9/15/2011) on AZCentral about the packets and timelines.
It doesn’t pay much ($18k/year for Council, $36k for Mayor) and it can be a thankless job. But if you care about Scottsdale and your fellow residents, you can make a difference.
The campaigning can be daunting, especially now that the Chamber of Commerce has vowed to “crush the activists.” They are going to spend a lot of money against candidates who haven’t received their “training” (yes, they have actually offered “candidate training”). However, you aren’t alone and we can help you.
You can read also more about our observations at our page on reforming the City Council.
If the prospect of running for office is too much for you and you want to get your feet wet a little bit first, you can always apply to serve on a city board or commission. The city just announced the most recent vacancies and applications are due September 23.
We also have suggestions about reforming the city’s boards and commissions.
There are other ways to learn about city government short of serving on a board or commission, such as the Citizens’ Police Academy and Scottsdale City Government 101, Neighborhood College, as well as other city government educational programs.
At the very least, attend some board and commission meetings as well as city council meetings. You can watch them on Cox CityCable Channel 11 or stream them to your computer. And, as always, contact us if you want to know more about any issue!
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