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E-Mail Councilman Nelssen
Councilman Tony Nelssen began his first term on the Scottsdale City Council in June 2006.
Councilman Nelssen is a third generation native Arizonan, has been active in civic affairs for more than two decades and served on a variety of city commissions and advisory groups, as well as neighborhood and civic associations.
He was a member of the Planning Commission for two and one half years and the Parks and Recreation Commission for six years. He served on the Desert Foothills Character Area Working Group, was on the Desert Subcommittee for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, was a member of the General Plan Task Force and was a member of the Wireless Ideas Team. He has been involved in a wide range of city initiatives and efforts, including the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Ordinance, the Desert Foothills Overlay, the Trails Master Plan, Local Area Master Plan, Sign Ordinance, Rural Road Design Standards and Scenic Corridor Guidelines.
He was involved in the first successful improvement district in Arizona set up specifically to bury 69-kilovolt power lines in the north Scottsdale area and has recently been involved in an Arizona Public Service task force on 69-kilovolt lines and substations in the area.
Councilman Nelssen has served as Vice President of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, Vice President and President of the Desert Property Owners Association and as a board member of Friends of the Scenic Drive.
In 1996 he founded The Great Sonoran, a group advocating innovative, site specific and climate sensitive architecture suited to the Sonoran Desert. Scottsdale derived much of its sensitive design guidelines from those developed by The Great Sonoran.
He is a strong equestrian advocate and was named Horse Hero of the year in 2002 in the Town of Cave Creek.
On the state level, Councilman Nelssen currently serves on the Arizona State Heritage Fund Public Advisory Committee.
He is a computer arts and digital photography instructor at Paradise Valley Community College and has taught courses at Arizona State University, Phoenix College and Scottsdale Community College.
He holds bachelor and master of fine arts degrees and a master of arts degree in secondary education from Arizona State University.
A 19-year resident of Scottsdale, Councilman Nelssen, his wife Marg, son Ian, and daughter Hannah live in the Desert Foothills area of Scottsdale annexed into the city in 1983, with four mules, a horse and three dogs.