SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Four candidates will compete for two open Scottsdale City Council seats in the November election after only one candidate secured enough votes to win outright in the July primary.
Incumbent Solange Whitehead was re-elected and will begin a new term in January 2027, according to current election results.
Incumbent Barry Graham and challengers Bob Littlefield, Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Raoul Zubia will appear on the November ballot.
Scottsdale City Clerk Ben Lane explained why the city's elections work differently than cities like Phoenix.
"We don't have districts here. So the mayor and council all represent the entire city. And because we don't have districts, you have to receive a majority of the votes cast to win outright in July," Lane said.
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Whitehead managed to do just that, surviving a viral attack ad from Ugenti-Rita and comedian and Scottsdale resident Rob Schneider that targeted her support for toilet-to-tap drinking water.
Whitehead responded to the video by saying, "I graduated middle school a long time ago."
Ugenti-Rita is also the subject of attack ads. Graham and Littlefield are also being targeted by negative campaigns.
Dark money has become a hotly debated topic after financial reports showed a political action committee called Better Together has funneled a quarter million dollars into the race so far.
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.
Expenses by Better Together totaled $264,000 as of June 30. The money was spent mainly on communications and advertising. The money was largely used to oppose candidates Graham, Ugenti-Rita and Littlefield.
The exact amount being spent won't be known until October, when the next campaign finance reports are due.
The ads are only expected to ramp up as early voting begins in October.
The Scottsdale City Council expects to canvass the election results at its August 3 meeting.
Email ABC15 Reporter Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X.
