Who is mayor of Scottsdale? What to know about David Ortega

Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega is serving his first four-year term in the affluent city's top leadership role, having been elected in 2020 when he won by a relatively narrow margin of just 6,000 votes. Alongside his majority of like-minded City Council members, Ortega has spearheaded a major change in Scottsdale's direction in only two years.

He steered the city away from being one focused on development and growth, for example, choosing instead to prioritize the preservation of Scottsdale's reputation as a tourism destination and on water conservation efforts.

Ortega's efforts have included making Scottsdale the first city in Arizona to mandate environmentally-friendly building codes. And he cut the city's water usage by 38 million gallons through efforts ranging from "aggressively" seeking out leaks in the irrigation system, to incentivizing residential landscaping that doesn't require much water.

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On the development side, Ortega has made a push to "reign-in excessive building height and density in Old Town by instituting rules that mainly serve to limit the number of apartments allowed in certain parts of the city.

The extent of Ortega's efforts have proved controversial at times. Pro-development critics argue his opposition to new multifamily housing has been a driver behind making Scottsdale's market the least affordable in the Valley, and the mayor recently cut off the water supply to thousands of non-city residents to further his conservation efforts.

Before he was elected to Scottsdale's top leadership role, Ortega worked as an architect in Arizona for about four decades and served one term on the City Council in the early aughts.

His current term as mayor will expire in 2024 and he will be eligible for reelection.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is mayor of Scottsdale? What to know about David Ortega