Statement
I'm running to keep delivering on community priorities—protecting neighborhoods and the Preserve, dedicating new parks and reinvesting in our oldest parks, supporting our public safety partners, securing Scottsdale's water future and safeguarding our environment and financial security for the long-term. I have focused on transparency, fiscal discipline, and delivering resident-driven priorities.
Biography
Solange Whitehead is an incumbent Scottsdale City Councilmember running for re-election in 2026. An electrical engineer and avid conservationist, she was first elected to the council in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She has been named "Conservationist of the Year" by the Arizona Wildlife Federation and champions environmentally responsible city policies, including Scottsdale's mandated green building codes. She is one of two incumbents in the eight-candidate 2026 council race.
Positions
Issue Stances
Water Policy
SupportsWhitehead would fully fund Scottsdale Water and its four Strategic Plan projects (Scottsdale APRW, Harquahala, Bartlett Dam expansion, and Phoenix APRW) and increase conservation staffing to cut demand through leak and evaporation prevention and technology — without reducing quality of life.
"Fully fund Scottsdale Water including the four identified projects in the Strategic Plan: Scottsdale APRW, Harquahala, Bartlett Dam expansion, and Phoenix APRW."
Education Funding
No official stance on record.
Border Security & Immigration
No official stance on record.
Housing Affordability
SupportsWhitehead negotiated Scottsdale's first multifamily project with a workforce-housing component and has since secured units designated for teachers, police, fire, and nurses, while restricting multifamily to areas with transit and jobs. She opposes blanket upzoning that conflicts with neighborhoods.
"I negotiated the first multifamily project that included a workforce housing component. Since that time, many approved projects include units designated for teachers, police, fire, and nurses."
Election Integrity
No official stance on record.
Healthcare Access
No official stance on record.
Public Safety & Criminal Justice
SupportsThe only 2026 incumbent endorsed by the Police Officers of Scottsdale Association, Whitehead added a police ranger unit and ambulance service, ramped up wildfire mitigation, and campaigned for the Prop 490/491 public-safety funding; Scottsdale was named a top-10 safest city on her watch.
"With my leadership, the city added a police ranger unit, an ambulance service, and ramped up wildfire mitigation efforts."
Energy Policy
No official stance on record.
Economic Development & Jobs
SupportsWhitehead supports maintaining and expanding Scottsdale's tourism economy to include innovation and knowledge-based industries, citing the Axon campus compromise, and emphasizes respecting and helping small businesses succeed.
"I support maintaining and expanding Scottsdale's tourism economy to include innovation and knowledge-based industries."
Reproductive Rights
No official stance on record.
Transportation & Infrastructure
NeutralWhitehead helped adopt a Transportation Action Plan that schedules road paving by need and cost, removed a proposed Preserve road, added a South Scottsdale sidewalk, and eliminated references to light rail. She backs data-driven parking studies and negotiated underground public parking.
"With a former Council in 2023, we adopted a new Transportation Action Plan (TAP) that scheduled road paving and improvement projects based on need and cost."
Government Spending & Taxation
NeutralWhitehead calls herself a fiscal conservative — doubling reserves, paying down public-safety pensions by $110 million, and reducing Preserve debt — while also championing voter-approved dedicated funding (Props 490 and 491) for the Preserve, parks, and public safety. She warned that the proposed FY2026–27 budget is actually higher than it appears, cautioning against budget framing that obscures increased spending.
"The proposed budget is higher, not lower."
Legislature
Legislative Voting Record
No voting record on file.
If this candidate holds a legislative seat, visit the Arizona Legislature at azleg.gov for voting records.
Ballot
Ballot Measure Stances
No ballot measure stances on file yet.
Coverage