The inventor and top distributor of the Taser, Axon Enterprise, scrapped plans for its new headquarters in Scottsdale.
Not only will the Scottsdale-based company not be breaking ground on its new headquarters as planned — they may move out of Arizona completely after over 30 years in the Valley. Axon says that the results of a forthcoming ballot referendum from another state’s labor union are to blame.
Rick Smith, Axon Enterprise CEO and founder, said in a press release that ongoing “political games” from a California-based labor union-led referendum put their entire operations at risk.
“[T]he uncertainty caused by this referendum forces us to confront a tough reality: we can’t allow political games to put our mission or our team at risk,” said Smith.
Apart from its headquarters in Scottsdale, Axon also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; London, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Tampere, Finland; Sydney, Australia; Melbourne, Australia.
Axon’s decision to cancel the groundbreaking came just two months after the Scottsdale City Council approved the company’s plans for the development.
The labor union, Unite Here, and its Phoenix-based political arm, Worker Power Institute, led on the offending ballot referendum, which would effectively reverse the Scottsdale City Council’s zoning changes allowing residential development.
The planned complex site was formerly established as an industrial zone. The new headquarters would have housed about 1,900 apartments and condos, a hotel, and multiple restaurants.
Last month, reports emerged that Unite Here attempted to coerce Axon into “a shakedown” agreement awarding the union exclusive collective bargaining agency in exchange for a withdrawal of the referendum. A spokesperson with the labor union denied their organization having any contact with Axon; an organization attorney reportedly contacted Axon over the leaked communications.
Under the alleged proposed agreement with Unite Here, Axon would have been required to notify the union of plans to solicit bids or proposals from business operators and require operating businesses to work with the union to screen applicants.
Scottsdale has been home to Axon since its founding in 1993. The company grew from Taser production to other technologies and weapons for law enforcement, military, and civilians.
“Our focus remains on saving lives, improving public safety and attracting the brightest minds to join us,” said Smith. “If that means relocating to a community that fully supports those goals, we’re prepared to make that move. This type of political interference risks not only this project but also Arizona’s ability to attract and retain major employers in the future.”
Axon’s press release also noted that Unite Here and Worker Power Institute led a successful campaign to thwart arena development efforts for the Arizona Coyotes.
“That campaign ultimately led to Arizona losing a major sports franchise,” stated the press release. “Axon’s leadership has raised concerns that such political interference risks undermining Arizona’s ability to attract and retain major employers.”
One impact study cited by Axon projected their new headquarters would support up to 5,500 high-wage jobs, generate $11.5 million in annual city tax revenues, and contribute $3.6 billion to the state’s economy annually.
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Scottsdale residents have raised 26,000 signatures in a petition for the Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (TAAAZE). They are demanding a public referendum on the zoning approval of a proposed apartment development near the headquarters of Axon at Hayden Road and the Loop 101.
The proposal only required 15,000 signatures to put the plan for approximately 1,900 multifamily units on the ballot, as reported by the Arizona Daily Independent. Former Scottsdale city councilman Bob Littlefield hand carried the petition signatures to city council while festively dressed up as Santa Claus. Reportedly, the costume was for a prior event. Littlefield is chairman of Protect Our Scottsdale, a phrase adopted by TAAAZE.
Littlefield told the outlet that Axon had deployed “blockers” whom he accused of harassing petitioners and pushing out mass-text campaigns maligning TAAAZE as a “radical agenda.”
In a post to X, he offered a rebuke writing, “Radical agenda? Really? When did trying to stop the biggest apartment proposal in Scottsdale history, when we have thousands of water-guzzling, traffic-clogging and view-destroying apartments already approved, become a ‘radical agenda?’ Fortunately, Axon’s blocking efforts have failed to slow down our signature gathering efforts. I believe this is because Scottsdale residents, who I have found to be the most politically savvy citizens in Arizona, already know three things:
1. The Axon apartment proposal is a bad deal for Scottsdale residents.
2. This bad deal was forced on Scottsdale residents by a lame duck Council majority, most of whom had been soundly defeated in the last election.
3. The Axon apartment proposal is exactly what voters resoundingly said in the last four elections they do not want.”
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
Vice Mayor Barry Graham and Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield voted against the measure, but were overruled with Graham chastising the outgoing members for exerting their last moments of control against the voters will.
“The irony isn’t lost: approving the most apartments in Scottsdale’s history while imposing a plan to punish you with higher taxes & fees to reduce your trash output by 90% and ration your water and utilities,” said Graham. AZ Free Newsreported in mid-November that the Scottsdale City Council was largely ousted in the 2024 Election, resulting in a largely lame-duck session that filled its final weeks on “slamming through” controversial agenda items including the apartment complex, avarious appointments to citizens’ commissions, and the city’s sustainability plan.
Incoming councilman Adam Kwasman reassured voters in a post to X, “We will do all we can to reverse the damage done.”
It is extremely regrettable to see what is likely to come out of the Scottsdale City Council over the next few weeks.
Rather than create a smooth transition with the newly-mandated council majority, the lame duck council is slamming through thousands of apartments, appointing…
If the petition is approved, it would appear on the 2026 ballot for a city-wide referendum.
Axon CEO Rick Smith reportedly warned in earlier interviews that should Axon face opposition to the development plan, then the law-enforcement equipment manufacturer would seek to relocated its headquarters out of Arizona to Atlanta or Seattle.
The outgoing Scottsdale City Council has busied itself with passing certain left-leaning priorities.
The election of several new faces to the Scottsdale City Council ensured what effectively amounted to an overhaul of the status quo, which was a council in favor of more progressive policymaking such as sustainability plans aligning with those proposals put forth by the Green New Deal.
The incumbent council members lost their seats, several to more conservative challengers. Mayor Dave Ortega lost to Lisa Borowsky, though he beat her previously in 2020. Adam Kwasman and Maryann McAllen were newly elected, ousting incumbents Tammy Caputi and Tom Durham.
Kwasman said in a post on X that the outgoing “lame duck” council was focusing its last weeks in office on “slamming through” action items on apartments, appointments to citizens’ commissions, and a sustainability plan. Kwasman said the current council has exhibited “extremely regrettable” behavior.
“We will do all we can to reverse the damage done,” said Kwasman.
It is extremely regrettable to see what is likely to come out of the Scottsdale City Council over the next few weeks.
Rather than create a smooth transition with the newly-mandated council majority, the lame duck council is slamming through thousands of apartments, appointing…
Earlier this month, the council worked on the nominations for 14 committee vacancies across the Environmental Advisory Commission, Historic Preservation Commision, Library Board, McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, Neighborhood Advisory Commission, Paths and Trails Subcommittee, and Veterans Advisory Commission.
Scottsdale Vice Mayor Barry Graham claimed that the outgoing council majority and city staff were working to limit public opposition to the lineup of more progressive policymaking in the works.
Graham asserted that city staff had “misrepresented” one of Tuesday night’s contested agenda items as a discussion-only item — a rezoning and development agreement to establish headquarters and housing for the Scottsdale-based weapons defense company Axon — but then agendized it as an action item.
“[City staff] are warning that residents may be turned away at the door and sent across the street to an ‘overflow’ waiting area… a strategy that may favor the applicant,” said Graham.
Tonight, Scottsdale City Council Votes on Axon's Apartment Application.
City staff—who misrepresented the item as a "discussion" when it's agendized for "action"—are warning that residents may be turned away at the door and sent across the street to an "overflow" waiting area… pic.twitter.com/Wn1q172KG4
Last week, Graham addressed the outgoing councilmembers’ commitment to assigning their preferred committee members.
“Because commission terms last for years, I requested that my colleagues postpone their lame duck December appointments of commissioners by two weeks as a good-faith gesture toward the newly-elected council,” said Graham. “Even though you chose not to re-elect any of them, the outgoing members insist on pushing through their midnight appointments.”
Later this month, the council plans to review a sustainability plan to implement “extreme heat” strategies.
Although council seats are nonpartisan, most of the incoming council members have Republican backgrounds. McAllen was the only registered Democrat in the group and received backing from Democratic groups.
Kwasman formerly served as a Republican lawmaker in the Arizona House from 2013 to 2015, and ran for Congress in 2014.
Jan Dubauskas, who won through her primary victory in August, has been an active member in local Republican organizations, serving as a precinct committeewoman as well as Palo Verde Republican Women vice chair of community outreach.
Mayor-elect Borowsky has advocated for fiscal conservatism to complement and boost Scottsdale’s economy. Borowsky previously served on the council from 2009 to 2013, and ran for Congress as a Republican in 2012.
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