<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3MaEU0_1GsQSHWZ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MaEU0_1GsQSHWZ00" width="664" height="406" ><figcaption>Barry Graham and Raoul Zubia took a break from stumping for votes on Election Day. Two days later, Zubia conceded to Graham and Michelle Ugenti-Rita. (Spenser Lee/Staff Photographer)</figcaption></figure>On Election Day, political commentators around the country started talking about a “blue wave” – with some switching to “blue tsunami” later in the night.In Scottsdale, voters put up what could be called “red sandbags.”Unofficial results of the Scottsdale City Council race were a stark contrast to the massive Democratic victories across the country – and much of the state.While Democratic candidates were flipping Arizona from red to blue, voters here were backing the two Republican candidates – Michelle Ugenti-Rita, the leader in unofficial results, closely followed by Barry Graham in a three-candidate race for two Scottsdale City Council seats.With left-leaning Raoul Zubia trailing and issuing a concession statement, a “conservative bloc” is likely to remain on City Council.Though Zubia was ahead in the first Maricopa County “ballot drop” on Election Day, he quickly fell behind. On Saturday, Nov. 7, the county elections department said 99% of ballots had been counted.With 120,152 votes in the Scottsdale City Council race, Ugenti-Rita led with 53,603 votes (33.97%), followed closely by Graham with 53,311 votes (33.78%).Zubia was 2,427 votes behind; even before last count updates, the Democratic candidate conceded.A crucial footnote: Like other Arizona cities and towns, Scottsdale is mandated to have “nonpartisan” elections. So there was no “R” for Republican next to Graham and Ugenti-Rita, nor a “D” for Democrat next to Zubia.But Graham and Ugenti-Rita campaigned as conservative Republicans.In a post-election post, Tyler Bowyer of Turning Point – backers of multiple Republicans who failed miserably around the country – boasted of the Scottsdale win: “Our team worked hard for them &amp; we are very happy they won.”Ugenti-Rita and Graham blasted Zubia as backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.Though Zubia rejected that claim, he had strong backing from local Democratic groups – just as Scottsdale Republican groups pushed hard for Graham and Ugenti-Rita.The “red sandbags” also stemmed the blue tide in Arizona Legislative District 3, which includes much of Scottsdale. In LD3, incumbent Republican John Kavanagh looked to be easily defending his senate seat, winning 60% of early votes against Democratic challenger Jeff Fortney.And the Republicans Cody Reim and George Khalaf had huge leads over Democrats Julie Gable and Richard Spargo in the battle for the two LD3 Arizona House of Representatives seats.Ugenti-Rita risesElected in 2022, Graham looks to be successfully defending his official seat, as well as unofficial position as “leader of the bloc.” After Graham and Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield spent two years in the minority, 2025 brought them like-minded colleagues Adam Kwasman and Jan Dubauskas – both elected to City Council in 2024.With Littlefield coming to the end of a three-term run and ineligible to run this year, Ugenti-Rita is poised to fill her bloc slot.Her style, however, wildly differs from the soft-spoken Kathy Littlefield. On the campaign trail, Ugenti-Rita was aggressively outspoken, hammering Zubia as “unqualified” and “a flip flopper.”She appears to be successfully resurrecting a once-promising political career.After six winning campaigns and a dozen years at the Arizona Legislature, she came in dead last in the 2022 Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State, then was crushed by incumbent Thomas Galvin in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 2024.She returned to the Legislature in 2025 – as a concerned citizen, blasting Axon’s planned North Scottsdale apartment-anchored development.But her pleas were rejected as the state passed “the Axon bill,” which allowed the expansion and cancelled a planned Scottsdale referendum on the project.Ugenti-Rita ran an aggressive campaign through Election Day, when she posted a photo of herself and comedian Rob Schneider – who previously co-starred in Ugenti-Rita videos attacking “Sewage Solange” Whitehead.The text to Ugenti-Rita’s Facebook photo post:“Thank you, @RobSchneider, for the continued support. Vote Michelle Ugenti-Rita and @BarrySGraham for City Council. Protect our city from high-density overdevelopment and unproven toilet-to-tap scam.”Throughout the campaign, Ugenti-Rita slammed Zubia, stating he “put his entire credibility on the line and built his campaign around water, making direct potable reuse – aka ‘toilet-to-tap’ — the central solution to what he claimed was an existential crisis.”She insisted Zubia “bought into the water rhetoric from woke ASU professors and Solange Whitehead fast and hard, choosing not to do the most basic independent research.”Ugenti-Rita’s candidate statement begins:“I am a lifelong Republican running for City Council because we stand at a pivotal moment. The vision of our next leaders will shape our city’s future for generations.“As a proven conservative and proud native of Scottsdale, I understand what makes our city exceptional, and what is at stake if we lose our way.”Graham is backGraham appears to be firmly holding his grip on Scottsdale City Council.Graham’s campaign repeatedly cited his opposition to Axon’s apartments-based expansion in North Scottsdale – and the anti-Graham campaign of Better Together, a political action committee founded by an Axon lobbyist and former Axon spokesman.“I’m thankful for the residents who stood up to special interests,” Graham told the Progress Nov. 5, as his victory appeared near.“Michelle and I stuck to local issues, local solutions and a residents-friendly campaign,” he added.“The massive Axon campus and canceled referendum were a huge component to the campaign,” he said.Based on the vote, Graham added, “I think it’s reasonable to conclude the Axon referendum would have succeeded … voters would have overturned the Axon apartments.”Graham, mocked repeatedly by Axon president Josh Isner, insisted he was far from alone in opposing the project.“I heard about Axon everywhere I went – all the time,” Graham said. “Displeasure with the state end run, the size of the development, the campaign involvement of Axon executives. Residents had a long list of grievances.”Graham, an accountant, made his entry in Scottsdale politics in 2022. After advancing from the City Council primary to the runoff, he cruised to victory over Pamela Carter.In 2025, a 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel found Graham “violated the city of Scottsdale Code of Ethical Behavior on Feb. 7, 2025 by requesting Budget and Research Administrator Ana Lía Johnson and Senior Budget Analyst Linna Zhou to pause work and delay funding for the 68th Street Sidewalk project.”With a split, 3-3 vote (Graham recused), Scottsdale City Council did not accept the ruling.In his voter information packet statement, Graham says he is a 41-year-old Chaparral High School grad who works as a certified public accountant and councilman.“You deserve an ideology-free City Council accountable to you – not special interests,” Graham states. “That’s why I’ve spent the last four years protecting neighborhoods, defending our open spaces, supporting public safety, and carefully scrutinizing how the city spends your tax dollars.”During the campaign, Graham also was pointed in his criticism, saying Zubia “has claimed direct potable reuse is the silver bullet, but we learned that his plans for an advanced purification plant would cost taxpayers $7,000 to $8,000 per acre-foot of water and produce only a small fraction of what the city needs.”As Graham sees it, “residents heard the real facts about Scottsdale’s water security from our experienced city water experts — not politically biased outside sources. They confirmed Scottsdale’s diversified water portfolio is secure.”Zubia taps outZubia is a retired banker who has been active on a variety of boards. He ran for Scottsdale City Council in 2022 – failing to make it out of the primary, where he finished a lowly fifth out of seven candidates.After the polls closed Nov. 3, Zubia was optimistic.“As we await additional election results in Scottsdale,” he posted on Facebook, “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to every volunteer, donor, supporter, and neighbor who stood with our campaign.“I'm incredibly proud of the campaign we ran and the positive vision we shared for Scottsdale's future,” he added.With ballots to be counted, he concluded, “we're watching the results closely.”An hour after the polls closed, Zubia’s supporters cheered when the count of the first 87,571 votes in Scottsdale showed the Democrat leading, with 40,171 votes (34.23%).But his lead quickly melted away in subsequent releases, which showed Zubia fading.Zubia ran for City Council in 2022, coming in sixth out of seven candidates battling for three seats.He was more successful this time, qualifying for the runoff by finishing fifth. (Bob Littlefield, a former councilman and Kathy’s husband, finished fourth and also qualified for the runoff, but soon after dropped out of the race.)The night of Nov. 5, after another ballot drop showed him fading, Zubia posted a concession.“We didn’t get the result we hoped for,” he said, before acknowledging the victories by Graham and Ugenti-Rita.“Congratulations to Barry and Michelle,” Zubia wrote. “I mean that sincerely.”The candidates elected Nov. 3 will begin their terms in January.</div></body>

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On Election Day, political commentators around the country started talking about a “blue wave” – with some switching to “blue tsunami” later in the night. In Scottsdale, voters put up what could be called “red sandbags.”. Unofficial results of the Scottsdale City Council race...

Scottsdale voters rejecting ‘blue wave’

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On Election Day, political commentators around the country started talking about a “blue wave” – with some switching to “blue tsunami” later in the night. 

Scottsdale voters rejecting ‘blue wave’

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