Scoop: Scottsdale City Council thwarts mayor's attempt to hire Sal DiCiccio

The Scottsdale City Council's surprise move to reassign two of Mayor Lisa Borowsky's staff members scuttled her plans to hire former Phoenix Council Member Sal DiCiccio, who responded by calling out her rivals as "dirty."

Why it matters: The dispute could exacerbate an increasingly fractious relationship between Borowsky and the City Council's majority faction.

Her attorney recently accused Vice Mayor Jan Dubauskas, Council Member Kathy Littlefield and her husband (a former council member) of a conspiracy to "maliciously damage and defame" her during a dispute over a planned parking project.

• Dubauskas, Littlefield and Council Members Barry Graham and Adam Kwasman voted last month to fast-track the hiring of a new city manager, overruling Borowsky and two others colleagues.

The big picture: During May 6 budget discussions at a City Council meeting, Kwasman proposed shifting two longtime mayoral staffers to the city clerk's office. The council approved 4-3.

• That would leave Borowsky with one full-time staffer, chief of staff Terrance Thornton.
• Kwasman said they were "restoring a level balance on the council," which needed more support because six members shared a single staffer.
• Borowsky said she was open to giving the council more staff but blasted the move as "improper," saying it was intended to undermine her.

State of play: Borowsky had planned to hire DiCiccio as a policy adviser to fill a vacant position, but that won't happen if the budget proposal is approved May 20.

• She'll fight to keep the positions with the mayor's office, where she said they've been for about 18 years.

Zoom in: DiCiccio, a longtime friend of Borowsky, told Axios he agreed to join her office to help her manage the council.

• Borowsky cited DiCiccio's experience — he served on the Phoenix City Council from 1994-2000 and again from 2009-2023 — for his hire. "His goal was to see if he could root out some of the chaos that's going on with the council at the insistence of the majority," she said.
• She referred to the staffing move as "political theater and gamesmanship."

The intrigue: DiCiccio raised alarms over a recent fundraising email from Kwasman. DiCiccio told Axios he warned Kwasman in a meeting earlier this month that the message might be unethical — even illegal — for implying political favors in exchange for campaign contributions. He said he also told Kwasman that people wanted Borowsky to remove him from a committee but that she wouldn't.

• In the email, Kwasman outlined his priorities as a member of the council's economic development subcommittee: supporting new and existing businesses, strengthening Scottsdale's tourism industry and investing in amenities that support economic success.

• He ended the email by urging people to contribute to support his mission "if you believe in Scottsdale's potential."
• DiCiccio said the email looks like "pay to play," suggesting contributions would help with the city's plans.

What they're saying: DiCiccio criticized Kwasman, Dubauskas and Graham — three of the four who voted to reassign Borowsky's staffers — calling them "corrupt."

• "I just believe there were some nefarious things going on. And it's going to continue. … I strongly believe that they're dirty," he said.
• DiCiccio said he thinks the staffing move was partly intended to stop Borowsky from hiring him because they don't want anyone looking over their shoulders.

The other side: Kwasman told Axios there was no connection between the staffing change and DiCiccio.

• He and Graham declined to respond to DiCiccio's comments about them, and Dubauskas didn't return a call from Axios.

What's next: Despite the setback, DiCiccio plans to continue assisting Borowsky on a volunteer basis, as he'd been doing.

• "He's not going away," Borowsky said.