Scottsdale City Council candidate Bob Littlefield withdrew from the race this week to avoid splitting votes among candidates seeking to stop the Axon development.
Littlefield, a three-term councilman from 2002 to 2014, dropped out of the race just days after expressing gratitude for winning in the primary. Littlefield expressed a desire to have more votes in the general election go to fellow, likeminded candidates Barry Graham and Michelle Ugenti-Rita — all three have been vocal in their desire to prevent a development effort by Axon Enterprises.
Dear Friends,
Today I made the difficult and personally painful decision to withdraw from the City Council race and return to my position as the Chairman of TAAAZE (Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions). I made this decision based on the results of the recent…
Raoul Zubia, the fourth primary victor, and incumbent Councilwoman Solange Whitehead, have expressed support for the Axon apartment development, though they have lamented the legislative intervention that thwarted a ballot referendum.
Littlefield, Graham, and Ugenti-Rita have opposed Axon, citing concerns with overdevelopment. The trio recently accused the company of engaging in a pay-to-play scheme to sway the council election. They claimed certain Axon executives funneled more than $1 million into cohort-run political action committees (PAC) dedicated to ensuring only development-friendly candidates were elected: Arizonans for a Better Future, and Better Together.
Arizonans for a Better Future has collected more than $1.1 million, which included $500,000 from Axon, $500,000 from Axon CEO Rick Smith, $100,000 from Axon President Josh Isner, and $20,000 from Axon Chief Legal Officer Isaiah Fields.
In June, the PAC gave $225,000 to American Perspective, a Virginia-based PAC, and spent around $30,000 for communications, more than $16,700 for polling and research, and $1,500 for legal services.
Better Together has raised more than $335,000 from National Horizon, a Virginia-based conservative super PAC. Better Together has spent approximately $200,000 to oppose Littlefield, Graham, and Ugenti-Rita, and $62,000 to support Whitehead.
“Bottom line, if Axon defeats the candidates who told them ‘no,’ Axon will never hear ‘no’ from the Scottsdale City Council again,” said Littlefield in June.
Dear Friends,
For 25 years, overdevelopment has been the dominant issue in Scottsdale elections — and the biggest threat to our city’s character and quality of life. Clogged roads, blocked views, higher taxes, and strained infrastructure are its lasting legacy.…
The city council approved a deal with Axon to fast-track its headquarters expansion last November following the company’s legislative intervention against grassroots opposition. Axon executives had initially called it quits on the city last summer after declining to break ground on its new headquarters early last year.
A ballot referendum led by Littlefield, Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (TAAZE), had gained enough signatures to appear on the ballot and allow voters to decide on the rezoning.
TAAZE emerged following a lame-duck city council agreement in 2024. The group had accused Axon of paying petition blockers to prevent Scottsdale residents from signing petitions to put Axon’s apartment development to a vote on the November 2026 ballot.
TAAZE raised 26,000 signatures and was poised to put the fate of the development to a vote.
Axon Referendum Update: I am happy to report our effort to collect the necessary signatures to refer the massive Axon apartment complex to the ballot is ahead of schedule. This in spite Axon's efforts to undermine our petition drive by deploying blockers to harass our petition… pic.twitter.com/opxb1Qaec6
However, in the months following the petition signature dropoff, Axon successfully lobbied the legislature to pass a bill preventing certain municipalities from allowing residents to decide land zoning measures pertaining to hoteling and housing. Gov. Katie Hobbs signed that bill into law in April 2025.
In May, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled the law to be constitutional.
Littlefield promised to continue to fight the Axon apartment development from outside the council.
Turning Point COO Tyler Bowyer commended Littlefield for withdrawing.
“Huge props to Bob Littlefield for putting Scottsdale ahead of himself, which he has always done,” said Bowyer.
True! 🇺🇸
Huge props to Bob Littlefield for putting Scottsdale ahead of himself, which he has always done
Ugenti-Rita commended Littlefield’s decision as “sacrifice” and an exemplar of leadership.
“For decades, Bob has been one of this city’s fiercest and most principled advocates, always willing to stand up to special interests and fight for the residents of Scottsdale, no matter the personal or political cost,” said Ugenti-Rita
I want to honor Bob Littlefield for his extraordinary service to #Scottsdale. For decades, Bob has been one of this city’s fiercest and most principled advocates, always willing to stand up to special interests and fight for the residents of Scottsdale, no matter the personal or… https://t.co/jpvAHbL8eE
— Michelle Ugenti-Rita (MUR) (@MichelleUgenti) August 5, 2026
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Scottsdale leaders have accused senior executives with the weapons company behind the Taser, Axon Enterprises, of using a pay-to-play scheme to sway the outcome of the Scottsdale City Council election.
Scottsdale City Councilman Barry Graham, former Councilman Bob Littlefield, and former State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita made the case for their complaint in a letter to the Axon Enterprise board of directors. All three are also running for council seats.
In a press release, Graham accused Axon’s senior executives of engaging in what appeared to be an attempt to influence the city council election. If their actions were what they appeared to be, said Graham, then that would raise troubling implications concerning corporate involvement in local elections.
The letter to Axon’s board claimed Axon executives funneled over $1.1 million into at least one political action committee their cohorts created — Arizonans for a Better Future — to defeat city council candidates opposed to a rezoning for their company’s headquarters campus.
These same cohorts created another political action committee earlier this month, Better Together, but total funds aren’t yet available since its first campaign finance report won’t be due until July 15.
Ballots for the city council election began to be mailed out on Wednesday.
This power struggle between Scottsdale leadership and Axon can be traced back to 2024, when a lame-duck majority of the Scottsdale City Council approved Axon’s petition to rezone 74 acres for apartments to serve its new headquarters. Scottsdale residents who objected to the rezoning formed the Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions and successfully gathered more than 25,000 signatures for a ballot referendum.
However, before that election could occur, Axon headed off a potential voter rejection of their desired rezoning by convincing the legislature to pass SB 1543, dubbed the “Axon Bill.” The legislation prevents municipalities with populations between 200,000 to 500,000 from allowing residents to weigh in on certain land zoning measures pertaining to hoteling and housing.
The legislative workaround irked Scottsdale’s elected leaders, including key Scottsdale lawmakers who claimed they were left out of discussions on the bill. Mayor Lisa Borowsky accused Gov. Katie Hobbs and the legislature of “unconstitutional overreach” that would ultimately harm the Scottsdale community.
I am disappointed with the way the Axon Bill has played out, culminating with the Governor signing this awful legislation—-without any discussion with representatives of #Scottsdale, knowing the impact it will have exclusively on our communities.
These political action committees were characterized as coordinating entities engaged in “aggressive” political campaigns against Graham, Littlefield, and Ugenti-Rita, whom the letter said were the only three candidates that had supported all but Axon’s apartment component of their headquarters project.
“[T]he circumstantial evidence here is substantial and difficult to ignore. It suggests that senior executives of a major public corporation are attempting to remove local elected officials and candidates perceived as insufficiently supportive of the company’s development objectives,” stated the letter. “Scottsdale voters should decide who represents Scottsdale — not corporate executives, political consultants, or special interests with access to virtually unlimited financial resources.”
The complaint letter relayed that the political action committee was created and entirely funded by Axon leadership.
Axon lobbyist Chris Baker and Axon spokesman David Leibowitz formed the two political action committees. Arizonans for a Better Future received $500,000 from the Axon company itself, $500,000 from Axon CEO Rick Smith, $100,000 from Axon President Josh Isner, and $20,000 from Axon Chief Legal Officer Isaiah Fields.
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In a special meeting on November 17th, the Scottsdale City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Axon Enterprise, Inc. In a 4-3 vote, the council adopted controversial plans to expand the company’s headquarters in a compromise agreement that allows Axon to build 600 apartment units and 600 condos over two construction phases.
According to interim city communications and public affairs director Holly Peralta, the council also approved three related items on 4–3 votes: creating a new self-certification and third-party inspection program, repealing the 2024 Axon zoning ordinance, and authorizing conditional legal action tied to the ongoing TAAAZE lawsuit if Axon failed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding by Nov. 19th.
Following the vote, Axon released a public statement thanking Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky, Vice Mayor Adam Kwasman, and Councilmembers Solange Whitehead and Maryann McAllen, all of whom voted in favor of the measure.
“Thank you to Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky, Vice Mayor Adam Kwasman, and Councilors Solange Whitehead and Mary Ann McAllen for supporting a fair compromise for all parties regarding the new Axon global headquarters. And thank you to the thousands of Scottsdale residents who helped make our project better with their feedback.
We are very excited to move forward with our new headquarters. Our team will work harder than ever to deliver safe outcomes to public safety and communities alike.”
Former City Councilman and Chairman of TAAAZE, Bob Littlefield, released a statement on Tuesday condemning the decision. He wrote in part, “Mayor Borowsky and Councilmembers Kwasman, Whitehead, and McAllen – totally sold out to Axon at the expense of Scottsdale residents. They gave Axon everything they wanted, and more!”
Referring to the city’s vote pertaining to the ongoing TAAAZE lawsuit, Littlefield wrote, “There was an item on the last night’s agenda to have the city join the TAAAZE lawsuit to reverse the ‘Axon bill’ which nullified the right of referendum for Scottsdale residents. Every time this item was voted on in the past, it was defeated by the pro-Axon majority. Last night it passed, but with so many amendments, it will never take effect.”
He added, “…don’t’ let Borowsky, Kwasman, Whitehead and McAllen gaslight you into believing they voted to have the city join the TAAAZE lawsuit – they didn’t.”
In a statement released Thursday, Councilwoman Jan Dubauskas described the deal writing, “While the contract says 600 apartments and 600 condos, without a voluntary deed restriction from Axon, that split is not legally enforceable by the city. Axon can build 1,200 apartments.” She added that Axon “will be the first company in the history of the city of Scottsdale to self-certify that its building meets city code,” and will “provide no additional water to cover its use,” which appears to be affected by a repeal of Scottsdale City Zoning Ordinance No. 4658 in the MOU.
In a statement released that same day, Mayor Borowsky fired back at Littlefield, Dubauskas and TAAAZE, writing in part:
“The Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (“TAAAZE”) committee, led by former Councilman Bob Littlefield, ran the out-of-state, union-funded Axon referendum. Of the about 27,000 signatures gathered, a total of 25,000 Scottsdale voter signatures were paid for by a California labor union.”
She said that Councilmembers Dubauskas, Graham, and Littlefield voted against holding a referendum election in July and added, “Again, in October, I asked the City Council to hold an election at the next available date, which would have been March 2026. Again, those same Councilmembers refused to listen to reason and said, ‘no.’”
She continued, “…Accordingly, we were left with only two choices:
File a lawsuit against the flawed Axon legislation, only to have Axon go back to the legislature to fix SB1543, neutering TAAAZE’s and the City’s legal claims and further nullifying the referendum election, leaving Axon free to build 2,000 apartments or more; or
Strike a compromise to reduce the number of units and project density.”
The mayor effectively laid the blame for the present compromise on the three councilmembers, writing, “Delaying the election cost us our right to vote on the Axon project and resulted in the city being stuck with SB 1543.”
She concluded, “I promised the voters to oppose high-density apartments. In keeping with my promise, I negotiated a major reduction of density, down from 2,000 apartments to 600 apartments and 600 condominiums. Importantly, TAAAZE representatives agreed to resolve the entire dispute if Axon agreed to build 500 apartments and 1,000 condos. In the end, my negotiations with Axon resulted in a much lower overall density than TAAAZE’s last demand.”
The Scottsdale City Council voted Monday to authorize Interim City Attorney Luis Santaella to ready counterclaims and other filings in its escalating court fight with Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (TAAAZE), the residents’ group challenging the state’s controversial “Axon Bill,” SB1543.
The authorization was granted in the event that the court upheld its original November 7th filing deadline in the case. However, the court subsequently granted an extension motion, according to Holly Peralta, Public Affairs Supervisor for the City of Scottsdale. Under the extended deadline of November 21st, the city council “will consider whether to bring forth such claims at its next regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 17.”
Former Scottsdale City Councilmember Bob Littlefield posted about the meeting on Monday morning, writing in part, “One of the items on tonight’s City Council agenda is the issue of whether or not the City will join my TAAAZE lawsuit against the ‘Axon Bill’ which cancels the right of referendum for Scottsdale citizens.”
Littlefield was critical of Mayor Lisa Borowsky, alleging that while supporting the suit, she has chosen not to take action.
He wrote, “This same question has been on the City Council agenda several times over the last few months, and the outcome has always been the same; Councilmembers Littlefield, Graham and Dubaskas have supported the idea while Councilmembers Whitehead, Kwasman and McAllen oppose it. That always leaves Mayor Borowsky as the swing vote. Lisa has repeatedly expressed support for the city joining the TAAAZE lawsuit against the Axon bill, yet every time it comes to a vote, she either votes against it or delays the vote, so no action is taken!”
One of the items on tonight's City Council agenda is the issue of whether or not the City will join my TAAAZE lawsuit against the "Axon Bill" which cancels the right of referendum for Scottsdale citizens.
This same question has been on the City Council agenda several times over…
Littlefield told AZFamily on Monday, “She wants to appear resident-friendly by saying she supports the lawsuit, but when it comes to push and shove, she votes in Axon’s interest by saying no.”
Borowsky responded, telling the outlet that she would prefer Axon keep its headquarters in Scottsdale. “Unlike former City Councilman Bob Littlefield, I want Axon to stay in Scottsdale,” she said. “Had Mr. Littlefield and his supporters not delayed the election until November 2026, Axon would not have gone to the Arizona Legislature, and we would not be in the legal predicament we are in today.”
She added, “Mr. Littlefield’s referendum was funded by an out-of-state labor union, which paid for 25,000 of the 27,000 signatures gathered. The 1,900 apartments at the Axon campus were hastily approved by the Lame Duck City Council on their way out the door. Let me be clear, I don’t support 1,900 apartments on that site. It is an outrage the Arizona Legislature passed a law to circumvent our control over zoning.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Mayor held a town hall meeting in an open Q&A format to address citizens’ concerns in the ongoing controversy surrounding Axon’s headquarters expansion. During the town hall, the Mayor similarly called out former Councilmember Littlefield, saying, “I would have preferred to have this election much earlier, like May 2025 … the reason I pushed so hard to have an earlier election is because I believe the people should speak on this.”
Littlefield was unmoved, however, and told the Daily Independent, “For months, she’s told residents she backs our effort, but when it matters most, she blocks it. Her go to excuse? ‘Questions about the bill.’”
“Lisa, the bill passed six months ago,” he continued. “You’re a lawyer. You’ve had ample time to read it and get answers.”
Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB 1543 into law in April, severely curtailing municipalities’ ability to refer zoning matters to a public ballot. The law retroactively nullified the TAAAZE referendum and earned a sharp rebuke from Borowsky and the council, who told the Governor the law “undermines the principles of local control that are foundational to Scottsdale’s governance” and “sets a dangerous precedent.”
As of this report, the council is expected to vote on whether to take legal action in the case during its Monday, November 17th meeting.
Axon, a global leader in public safety technology, has signed an agreement to acquire Carbyne, the cloud-native emergency communications platform trusted by agencies serving over 250 million people worldwide.
The $625 million transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, marks a critical milestone in Axon’s mission to transform public safety from the moment a 911 call is placed.
By combining Carbyne’s modern call-handling core with Axon’s AI-driven Prepared platform, the company introduces Axon 911–the industry’s first fully integrated, start-to-finish emergency response system.
Axon 911 seamlessly links callers, dispatchers, and field responders through real-time data, live video, multilingual translation, and automated evidence workflows. From the initial alert to final case resolution in Axon Evidence, every critical detail is captured, shared, and actionable.
“Every year, more than 240 million 911 calls are made in the U.S., and in too many cases, vital information is lost between the call and the response,” said Axon Founder and CEO, Rick Smith. “By uniting Axon’s 30-year legacy of innovation with Carbyne’s cloud-based call management platform, we’re closing that gap, giving call takers and dispatchers instant visibility and connecting them directly to officers in the field. It’s how we transform a call for help into the first moment of intelligence.”
The transformation relies on two complementary engines. Prepared by Axon serves as an AI overlay that enhances any existing 911 system with real-time transcriptions, automated triage, and non-emergency deflection. It currently operates in over 1,000 centers across 49 states and serves nearly 100 million residents.
Carbyne functions as a cloud-native core with 99.9% uptime, intelligent routing for voice, text, and video, and real-time voice-to-voice translation. The platform currently processes more than 250 million data points annually.
Together, Prepared and Carbyne power Axon 911 as a unified platform. Call data instantly feeds Axon Fusus for real-time analytics and command visibility. Dispatchers can trigger Axon Drone as First Responder (DFR) directly from the call screen to help deliver real-time updates. Body-camera footage, drone feeds, and digital evidence are automatically archived in Axon Evidence.
Even though 80% of 911 calls now originate from cell phones, most centers still rely on decades-old landline systems. A survey done by Carbyne with the help of the National Emergency Number Association reveals that 86% of centers face high call volumes at least weekly, with 35% experiencing them daily. Additionally, 63% report that 50-80% of calls are non-emergencies.
“Carbyne was created to modernize how help arrives — by giving emergency professionals the clarity, resilience, and confidence they need in critical moments,” said Carbyne Founder and CEO, Amir Elichai. “Joining Axon allows us to scale that mission globally and integrate more deeply into the broader public safety ecosystem. Together, we’ll help agencies save time, reduce uncertainty, and improve outcomes for the people and communities they serve.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
