Scottsdale City Council Votes to End Office of Diversity | Better Together Arizona Podcast

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President and Co-Founder, Angela Hughey is joined by Scottsdale Councilwoman Solange Whitehead. Ms. Whitehead began her journey on the Scottsdale City Council in January 2023. On February 11, 2025, the Scottsdale City Council voted to end the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and “require” merit-based hiring practices. Angela and Solange come together to talk about the repercussions of removing this important office and opportunities to find solutions moving forward. The City of Scottsdale  Office of Diversity had been in place since 1998 with a mission of bringing people together and reducing bias from both sides of the aisle. The Office was also responsible for managing complaints from City residents and visitors regarding the Scottsdale nondiscrimination ordinance.  Requiring “merit-based” hiring practices was arguably the primary justification for the Council’s vote. According to Whitehead: “The City of Scottsdale does and always has made hiring decisions based on merit and anyone currently living in Scottsdale can see the benefits of merit-based hiring.”  The ordinance, which “was concocted behind closed doors,” changes nothing regarding actual hiring practices in the City of Scottsdale. “If this council had used normal practices, then the community would have been involved and we may have identified [actual] problems.” There was no public outreach or data to support the need for this action and there was not a full council discussion.    “This is a complete departure from how city councils have operated for generations…Sadly, I think this was a political move and not a policy move,” says Whitehead. “When this item appeared on the agenda 10 days ahead of the meeting, we received more emails in opposition to the move than I have ever received on any topic. We had so many people show up to the meeting that some were forced to watch the meeting in an overflow room.”About Better Together Arizona: Better Together Arizona podcast shares stories that teach us how to value one another as neighbors, to value people who live differently than us, and to seek unity over division. The Better Together Arizona podcast includes people from all walks of life, working in often surprising ways to make a positive impact in the lives of others.Better Together Arizona is supported by ONE Community and filmed at the Full Swing Studios podcast studio in Midtown Phoenix.#BetterTogetherArizona #BetterTogetherAZ #LGBTQPodcasts #BestLGBTQPodcasts #LGBTQPodcast #GoodLGBTQPodcast #ScottsdaleCityCouncil #SolangeWhitehead #SolangeWhiteheadScottsdale #DEI #DiversityAndInclusion #Diversity #ScottsdaleForAll #LoveAZ #OpenAZ