by Hugh Hallman

Mayor, City of Tempe

    As a lifelong resident of Tempe, I have ideas about where we should go. But most ideas for our community’s direction come, appropriately, from discussions with you and other members of our community. My job is to represent you while taking a leadership role in determining policy, our direction and how we’ll get there together.

    Because we seek to include everyone and don’t always agree on everything, the process is sometimes contentious. Democracy at work is slow and often messy. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln: you can please most of the people, but only most of the time.

    The demographics in Tempe and the invested voices of its constituency are one of the pleasures and challenges of living here. Bringing our voices together to create policy continues to be a great benefit of belonging to so active a community. Many examples of this abound.

    The Ad Hoc Rental Task Force is made up of a dozen members and some 70 citizens who have attended meetings over the past two years. That work resulted in the addition of code enforcement officers and increased police party patrols. We substantially increased fines for non-compliant chronic offenders who abuse neighborhoods and allow residential property to deteriorate.

    We’re opening processes so residents can voice opinions well prior to the design stage of projects, especially where land development is concerned. We used a more open process for properties at Fifth and Farmer and property adjacent to Tempe Center for the Arts. Public input was so clear during the process for the property next to the TCA that we threw out the proposals the city had received and started over. We held public meetings and a working session at Tempe Library. Hundreds of residents helped us to redesign our vision for the property and now we are moving forward on a project our whole community can be proud of.

    We have worked with the Governor’s Office and ADOT to enforce the promises made about traffic solutions for I-10 and US 60 to address congestion at the Broadway curve. Rush hours dump pollution on Tempe neighborhoods and encourage drivers to leave freeways for surface streets, causing congestion and cut-through traffic. The combination of your voice and city leadership has made this progress possible. The first steps now are being taken to improve this freeway interchange.

    So that you have the information you need in this partnership, meetings are posted at City Hall and at www.tempe.gov. We send information in your water bill and we’re exploring more ways to reach you by working with the media team at Tempe 11.

    You can attend “Let’s Talk Tempe,” televised monthly on Tempe 11, taped the last Tuesday each month at Pyle Center at 7 a.m. Your questions help clarify community goals and inform city leadership as we make policy. “Mayor’s Office Hours” programs typically are held the first Tuesday each month from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at various Tempe locations. Find a month’s specific location at www.tempe.gov.

    Open government process is a challenge, but it’s also a promise. When we invite participation it can be somewhat chaotic as all who wish have their say. Through the process of dialogue, research and hard work, we can reach agreement. It takes leadership to facilitate consensus and leadership to chart the course to reach our goals.

    I am committed to opening the process to public participation even more, but I need your help. What other ways are there to create positive change and be involved? You can apply to serve on a board or commission. Write letters to the editor and send e-mails to your council members and to me. Your attendance at any meeting is always appreciated.

    Representative, open, accessible and accountable government—I believe in it, I commit to it, and I will continue to deliver on its promise. But we need your voice to make it work.