Paradise Valley Town Council race: Where do candidates stand on taxes, short-term rentals
Paradise Valley voters are deciding who will fill three City Council seats in the July 30 election.
Paradise Valley City Council incumbents Scott Moore and Julie Pace are hoping to retain their seats.
They face lone newcomer challenger Karen Liepmann.
The Arizona Republic asked each candidate about everything from what their first priority will be, to how they plan to address issues facing Paradise Valley.
Here’s what they had to say, in alphabetical order. Some answers may have been slightly edited to keep to arranged lengths.
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Vision: Why are you running for Paradise Valley City Council?
Why are you running for Paradise Valley City Council? If elected, what will your first priority be?
Karen Liepmann: I am running for Town Council for two reasons. First, I have lived in Paradise Valley for 35 years. Together with my husband, Bart Brebner, we have raised our two sons here. I am pleased to be able to give back to the wonderful place I call home. My second reason for running is to share the experience and leadership skills I developed as a transactional, administrative, intellectual property, and technology lawyer practicing in Arizona over 30 years.
I have served on the Planning Commission since 2021, and currently serve as chair. In this role, I have gained significant insight into town government and procedures that I will bring to the council. I am a strong advocate of preserving Paradise Valley’s natural beauty, low density, and unique quality of life.
My first priority, once elected, will be to listen, watch, and learn. I am the only non-incumbent running for council or mayor. I believe Paradise Valley has been run very well for the last few years. We have an exceptional mayor and council. I am not aware of any changes that need to be implemented immediately.
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Scott Moore: As the Town’s former twice-appointed Vice Mayor, I thoroughly enjoy serving as a volunteer for the past decade. I was initially appointed by the Town Council to serve on the Board of Adjustments, followed by serving as a Planning Commissioner and Hillside Committee Member, and since 2016 as an elected official with two terms on Council. I enjoy what I do and want to continue being of service to the place I call home.
Based on my time on Council, my first priority and what residents are most concerned with besides public safety is maintaining our low residential character. What happens at the state level is really what affects us most, so it’s critical to keep a vigilant eye on all the bills working through our state legislators. Locally, we’ve seen many redevelopment projects that have come forward in the last several years. Earning community support is never a “given” and I believe a key part of our unique community is not being afraid to say “no” to bad development. I have a long track record of ensuring responsible building and opposing over-development, ensuring we protect our community’s low-density residential character.
Julie Pace: I currently serve as Paradise Valley Town Councilmember and was elected in both 2016 and 2020. I have served as Vice-Mayor and was two-year chair of ACOPS committee to strongly support our police department.
I am a fourth generation Arizonan, 20-year Paradise Valley resident, worked over 30 years as a construction/employment/OSHA attorney for companies, and I'm a 40 year volunteer with nonprofits and public service.
My continuing priority is to fight for quality of life. I'm a hard-working doer known for creative solutions who works to preserve Paradise Valley for future generations.
I will continue to publish a newsletter called Preserving Paradise Valley to help unite residents to work together to preserve our quality of life of one-house per acre, iconic mountains, open space and with no property tax.
Another priority is government relations. I have extensive experience and success in stopping bad bills at the state legislature and drafting and advocating for good bills that help Arizona businesses and our town.
Other priorities for me are watching finances, keeping the community safe, addressing drainage and stormwater issues, continuing to support the Paradise Valley Mountain Preserve Trust and preventing business encroachment and density in our Town.
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Taxing and spending: Where to the Paradise Valley City Council candidates stand?
New state policies will affect town budgets. If faced with a deficit, will you support raising taxes to maintain town services or cutting programs? Which specific services and/or taxes would you consider first and why?
Liepmann: I do not believe any new state policies enacted during the legislative session that just ended will negatively impact Paradise Valley’s budget. Paradise Valley’s budget and balance sheet are quite healthy. Our budget is heavily supported by our resorts. We have two new resorts opening in the next few years; the Ritz Carlton, and the SmokeTree Resort. I expect additional income from these resorts will enhance Paradise Valley’s income to the extent we will not need to choose between raising taxes and cutting town services and programs.
However, if Paradise Valley were to face a budget crises, I would not vote to impose a residential property tax.
Moore: To be clear, the Town of Paradise Valley doesn’t have a local tax and I don’t support creating one. We were formed on a limited government model and have spent years operating a conservative budget which includes creating a “financial stress test model” to ensure we have the available funds during turbulent times. We’re constantly affected by what happens at the state level and are always paying close attention to all bills working through our House and Senate. We want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to minimize the negative impacts they could create locally. We are well positioned financially, and we do not anticipate any circumstance that would force us to operate in a deficit.
Pace: Our unique small community has no property tax, is fiscally conservative and has 100% volunteers who serve on council and as judges. I do not support a property tax. I do not support borrowing money to pay bills.
If we need an increase to pay for town services, I would evaluate staffing to see if we can do more with less; identify services that can be cut or can be handled efficiently using technology, automation or outsourcing; increase permit costs; and work harder to educate and persuade State Legislators to reconsider decisions that result in harm.
Councilmember Ellen Andeen and I led the efforts to fund our town’s PSPRS fund with $5 million dollars. This helps our town tremendously and forestalls the need to ask residents to vote on an expenditure limitation increase. We manage money wisely, and Councilmember Andeen is a financial whiz who keeps her eye on our town’s finances and contributes greatly with her emphasis on that role in her service on council.
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Perceptions: What would Paradise Valley City Council candidates change?
What is the best thing about Paradise Valley that you would never change? Why? What is the first thing that needs changing and why?
Liepmann: The best things about Paradise Valley are our low-density housing and our natural open space. These two features, together with limited government, limited commercial activity, and no residential property taxes, are what define Paradise Valley and make it a special, unique community.
Paradise Valley has been run-well for the last few years. I am not aware of any major changes that need to be implemented immediately. I do support reviewing, and perhaps updating, our noise ordinances to address resident concerns regarding landscaping and pickleball noise. Recent actions that I do support include the adoption of Paradise Valley’s strong Short Term Rental Ordinance, and fully funding our police department and pension obligations.
Moore: Our low-density residential character is what makes Paradise Valley special. My voting record is strong on preserving our unique residential character and quality of life. I have consistently pushed back on density, height, noise and supported conserving our view corridors and mountain views. I have always been for responsible development. My voting record on density and development is consistent with our town’s unique values of a premier, low density residential community that is reflective of excellence in development and design and protection of the natural Sonoran Desert environment.
I really don’t see any issues in our community that demand change at this time. Again, our limited town government enables us to be very focused on the needs of our residents and the unique character of Paradise Valley.
Pace: I have a strong, demonstrated track record and will continue to fight for quality of life including protecting open space, preserving our iconic mountains of Camelback and Mummy Mountain, preserving dark skies, undergrounding utilities for beautiful vistas for residents and visitors who stay at our world-class resorts, strongly supporting our police department, and doing so as a 100% volunteer with no property tax.
Items I will work to address include: 1) getting a shooting range funded and built for our police department to save on travel time, costs and inconvenience as they currently have to go to Ben Avery on Usery Pass road to keep up with required trainings; 2) selling the residential lot at Doubletree and Scottsdale road to use the monies to pay for the shooting range; 3) getting more land donated to the Paradise Valley Mountain Preserve Trust; 4) collaborative efforts to address pickleball noise issue from the popular new sport that has caused many resident complaints; 5) reducing traffic 6) CIP and stormwater drainage projects 7) monitoring finances and creeping costs to operate the Town, and 8) fighting against high density projects and encroachment of businesses operating in residential houses in our neighborhoods.
Law and order: What is the best way to regulate rowdy short-term rentals?
Paradise Valley has led Arizona communities in enforcing short-term rental regulations. What works well and what needs revisiting? Why?
Liepmann: I fully support Paradise Valley’s recently enacted Short-Term Rental ordinance. Paradise Valley has been a leader in both enacting a strong ordinance, and enforcing our ordinance. We hired a full-time enforcement officer to enforce the ordinance. My understanding is the results of the law and enforcement have been excellent, with high owner compliance and virtually no recent citizen complaints.
Moore: Regulating short-term rentals is best managed on the local level rather than the state level. Paradise Valley has had some unique problems with short-term rentals. Out-of-state investors and developers have in some cases converted existing homes from single family to mini hotels by adding bedrooms and beds anywhere they will fit, including converting garages into makeshift bedrooms. I have seen as many as 20 occupants in the listings as something that is welcomed and acceptable by the host. I have spent many hours working with Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner, town staff and our local legislators down at the state capital trying to pass legislation that ensures local control so each community can decide what’s best for them.
With that said, dangerous proposals continue to come out from our state legislature to override existing local zoning and mandate state-wide legislation that would have a negative impact on Paradise Valley. These types of bills that preempt local zoning laws would be similar to the state law that opened the floodgates for short-term rentals across the state when it was passed many years ago.
Pace: It is good to require short-term rentals to register in municipalities. Short-term rental owners need to comply with municipality rules and use good judgment to be a good neighbor to residents.
Short term rental owners should not allow outdoor parties and should monitor noise to receive alerts regarding party noise to deal with it quickly and not burden police departments.
Better follow up needs to occur on collecting tax revenue. We have seen in PV, short term owners who did not register their properties as rentals and took rental income for years of millions of dollars but it appears did not pay appropriate taxes.
Better auditing by the state and transparency of rental income and taxes paid would be helpful to improve check and balances on the monetary issues and could help our State reduce its current budget deficit.
The state should not override HOA restrictions or zoning. Our state legislators should give peace of mind to residents to rely on local zoning rules and HOA restrictions on where they choose to buy a home, which is the most important investment people make in their lifetimes.
Enforcement consequences should be increased for the bad actors in the industry.
Inspiration: Who shapes the Paradise Valley City Council candidates' thinking?
Who in public life, past or present, do you admire most? Why? And what lesson do you draw from that person’s experience?
Liepmann: I admire Sandra Day O’Connor. She was a trailblazing, independent, intelligent, public servant who fought hard for what she believed in. Justice O’Connor handled significant prejudice and pushback with grace, perseverance, and humor. She was a commonsense pragmatist who was a credit to Paradise Valley, Arizona, and the United States Supreme Court.
I had the honor to meet Justice O’Connor a number of times, both formally and informally. One lesson I draw from her experience is that grace, grit, and intelligence is a powerful combination. I strive to emulate those qualities.
Moore: I have great admiration for many of our former mayors and council members, but the one public servant I’ve worked with the longest and truly admire is Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner. His loyalty and tremendous dedication to our town is unmatched. Mayor Jerry has really inspired me in so many ways. He always shows up with enthusiasm, ready to work through tough issues with his council and staff. He and I both believe in open and transparent legislation and conducting ourselves with dignity and respect toward others.
Pace: I admire President Ronald Reagan for the principles he stood for and his ability to collaborate and accomplish goals in a bi-partisan manner. His comments stand the test of time.
On a local level, I admire Vice-Mayor Mark Stanton who is running for mayor to serve our town. I have watched him for 10 years during my service to the town. Mark Stanton has the traits of a good mayor because he uses humor, is very witty, does not have a temper, does not exhibit anger, is inclusive, has integrity, is genuine, is honest, and does not retaliate.
Mark Stanton is thoughtful and strongly believes in utilizing the entire team, instead of being out to promote himself or to advocate his own agenda. He has served in leadership roles repeatedly and is well-liked.
Mark Stanton has been elected unanimously two times to serve as vice mayor. He is the only mayoral candidate that has the respect of each of the seven council members. Stanton can easily step in and lead as mayor and continue the town on its current path without drama. He brings a depth of experience at the state legislature to benefit the town. I admire that!
Election integrity: Where do the Paradise Valley City Council candidates stand?
Do you think Arizona elections are fairly run? Do you trust the results? Will you abide by them? Why or why not?
Liepmann: Yes. I do think Arizona elections are fairly run. I do trust the results, and I will abide by them. Our current and former secretaries of state are committed individuals, who, I believe, have put election integrity at the forefront. Based on my understanding and experience, I am comfortable that Arizona has a reliable and up-to-date election system.
Moore: Arizona’s elections are exceptionally well run. I fully trust the results of our elections and will abide by them completely.
Pace: Our Town elections are fairly run. I trust the results. I will abide by the results. I do support election integrity.
I was a deputy registrar when I was 18 years of age. I have sat at grocery stores and in homes registering people to vote. I take the responsibility seriously. It is part of our democracy.
Being a volunteer, instead of being paid to serve as a councilmember, does not change the signature requirements.
Our town experienced a candidate who did not get enough signatures, submitted duplicate signatures, did not make the effort and thought it was OK to not obtain and submit the required number of signatures because he said it was a volunteer position.
Instead of owning his mistake, like others similarly situated, he blamed others and criticized a highly respected, long term PV family who named Mummy Mountain and have donated countless hours to benefit our beautiful town. He made several false allegations as his response.
It was embarrassing to the town’s heritage, volunteer work ethic, unfair to other candidates and the many volunteers who have served as elected officials and who did complete the State of Arizona’s required number of qualified signatures.
Reach the reporter at [email protected]
Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Paradise Valley City Council election 2024: Candidates answer Q&A
