In the good old days, the city used to be politically divided between North Scottsdale and South Scottsdale. The only thing up for debate was where one started and the other ended.
Today the divide is no longer just geographical. It's political. It cuts through the entire community -- and if you don't recognize the deep political division, you haven't been paying attention.
In case you haven't ...
Using the Desert Discovery Center/Desert Edge as a wedge issue, No DDC has been the driving force behind the divisiveness. For more than a year, No DDC has waged a war of words aimed at those who support the DDC. Supporters have been called every name under the sun. Some City Council members have been called out as "garbage," and that's one of the milder comments.
The organization has also harassed businesses that have dared to support the DDC and even encouraged boycotting scores of Scottsdale establishments.
Ironically, the members of No DDC have convinced themselves that they are actually uniting the city behind their boorish behavior.
Solange Whitehead, City Council candidate who emerged from the ranks of No DDC, went one step further: "The notion that Scottsdale citizens are divided or uncivil is a myth. A myth perpetuated by some on the City Council."
No DDC is now on a mission that's less about the DDC/Desert EDGE. The group has moved on to changing the City Charter via Proposition 420. They're also working to unseat Councilwoman Linda Milhaven and replace her with Whitehead, who serves on the board of Protect Our Preserve (POP) -- which has become this election cycle's premier dark money group that's filtering anonymous contributions to help pass Prop 420.
As for No DDC, it has evolved into what the Coalition of Pinnacle Peak (COPP) once was, but without the integrity: a special interest group committed to changing the direction of the city by hook or by crook.
For them the real change starts in the mayor's office in 2020.
Even though former three-term Councilman Bob Littlefield was trounced by Jim Lane and his wealthy friends in his run for mayor in 2016, he has remained active behind the scenes. For the past year Littlefield has been managing his wife's re-election campaign. It appears as though he has been living vicariously through Kathy's last three years on the City Council and keeping his skills sharp. Some say he's crazy ... like a fox.
Whatever the case ... if the current political trends continue, Bob Littlefield, who was left for dead two years ago, could be on the comeback trail with the political wind at his back ... and the support of No DDC members.
Could Littlefield have been ahead of his time?
Although he often seemed to be the odd man out during most of his 12 years on the Council, the issues consuming today's political environment seem remarkably similar to those he struggled to champion from the dais in the Kiva.
Old political proverb: Good things come to those who wait.