The best things in life are sometimes the ones you stumble into. My first college semester, I joined the student newspaper as part of a layout and design class. I just needed some elective credits and to fill an opening in my class schedule.
It didn’t occur to me that this path could lead to a career in journalism. While I was a half-decent writer in grade school here in metro Phoenix, my only experience was being the go-to “movie critic” for my eighth-grade newspaper class (a fun fact I only recently recalled after perusing through old yearbooks).
Now, a couple of decades older and a few address changes later, I’m back in the Valley as The Arizona Republic’s new Phoenix and Scottsdale reporter. Over the past year, I covered the West Valley cities, namely Glendale, Peoria and Surprise.
Having covered several of metro Phoenix’s local governments, I can confidently say that it requires ongoing attention. Often, that means chasing hunches, poring over financial records and lawsuits, and of course, listening to residents when developments or smelly ponds upend their daily lives.
Shawn Raymundo is The Arizona Republic’s city watchdog reporter covering Phoenix and Scottsdale.
As reporters, it has been our longstanding charge to provide vital information to communities while holding elected officials accountable to residents.
As a city watchdog reporter, I’ll have my hands full covering stories in and out of City Halls. That includes government accountability, spending and transparency, as well as how elected officials’ policy decisions affect citizens’ lives.
To continue doing that, we need the support of our readers. The best way to support our work is to subscribe to The Republic.
In the coming months, much of my coverage will focus on Phoenix’s efforts to address the ongoing homelessness crisis and to mitigate the effects of excessive heat. But it’ll also be driven by the residents, meaning I’ll need to stay connected with community members and officials.
Over in Scottsdale, a new supermajority of conservative council members has already created a dynamic shift in the way the city operates. They were elected by residents who staunchly oppose new multifamily housing despite the statewide shortage of affordable homes. How those city leaders interact and address the rising tide of development will surely be something I’ll be watching.
But that growth and development isn’t unique to either city. It’s being felt across the Valley, as are concerns over the loss of federal dollars during the Trump administration. The city watchdog team will keep those at the top of our minds in our reporting.
I’ve come a long way since learning how to lay out a newspaper — and even longer since writing movie reviews about childhood classics.
At Arizona State University’s student-run paper, The State Press, I reported on crime and police, producing the police blogger and covering breaking news.
The connections I made at that paper led me halfway around the world.
For about three years, I was the government accountability reporter for the Pacific Daily News, a former Gannett property in the U.S. territory of Guam. There, I kept the governor’s feet to the fire over substantial pay raises he gave his staff while island residents continued waiting years for income tax refunds.
And for five years, I worked as a hyper-local news reporter in south Orange County, California, where I balanced coverage of city councils, school boards, eroding beaches, community events, and of course, thorny elected officials.
So thanks to that one free space in my class schedule, I gained the overall experience that has prepared me for this role, covering the fifth-largest city in the nation and the always newsworthy Scottsdale.
If you want to see some of my most recent work at The Republic, check out my author page at azcentral.com/staff/72248199007/shawn-raymundo/.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Meet The Arizona Republic reporter covering Phoenix and Scottsdale
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