Now that he's announced he will resign as Phoenix mayor to run for Congress, it's not too early to at least make a preliminary evaluation of Greg Stanton's tenure.
Whether they like it not, all Phoenix mayors since the mid-1980s have been judged on what we could call the Goddard Scale. Terry Goddard was a transformational Phoenix leader who swept away the last of the Charter-Margaret Hance status quo, led the change to a district system of council representation, saved the historic districts, and began to salvage downtown. He was bold! He was visionary! He got cities and had a clear-eyed view of Phoenix's situation!
And this is actually true. But even Terry Goddard wasn't Terry Goddard at first, or how he would mature as a leader and urban thinker after he left office (it was a terrible loss for Arizona that he didn't become governor). So on the Goddard scale, even Terry wasn't a 10. Let's say 9.1. Give Paul Johnson a 6.5 — Goddard was a hard act to follow, and Johnson faced the worst recession in decades here, up to that point. Skip Rimsza, who served from 1994 to 2004, gets a solid 8 in my book, although some would disagree. The same for Phil Gordon, especially his more productive first term.
And Stanton, who assumed office in 2012? I'd also give him an 8. Phoenix has been fortunate in its mayors.
This comes with many asterisks. For example, unlike Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, Phoenix has a weak mayor council-manager form of government. It's the largest city in America with such an arrangement. Although the mayor here is given more powers than any other in Arizona, he is ultimately one vote out of nine on the City Council.
Rimsza and Gordon in his first term benefited from constructive majorities on the council. Among other things, they made possible light rail (WBIYB), the ASU downtown campus, T-Gen, and the new Phoenix Convention Center. Stanton had to craft majorities despite the ball and chain of Better Call Sal DiCiccio and his fellow reactionary Jim Waring, as well as the controversial Michael Nowakowski. It wasn't easy.
Also, mayors are the product of larger forces. Stanton inherited a city that was at the epicenter of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. It made progress difficult, set in place existing barriers to competitiveness. I call it the Come As You Are recession — cities already doing well (Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Austin) leapt even further ahead during the recovery. Those that were laggards remained that way, especially in a business cycle disproportionately favoring technology giants and the "back to the city" movement.
Stanton undeniably presided over good things: light rail was expanded, ASU grew its downtown footprint, the central city saw its first real building boom since it began to be hollowed out in the 1960s. Some beginnings were made in attracting private capital to the central core, although Phoenix continues to suffer from the catastrophic loss of corporate headquarters that hit it in the 1990s and 2000s. Stanton courageously stood up against Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio, and an anti-city Legislature, and for tolerance and inclusion. He and the Council hired an excellent City Manager in Ed Zuercher.
Some things Stanton won praise for may not look so good as time provides perspective. The same is true for at least one over which he was pilloried.
With at least one eye trained on a political future, Stanton pushed a reset on the relationship with Phoenix's supersized suburbs. He celebrated economic gains wherever they came in the metropolitan area, even if they were at the expense of Phoenix. Inter-metro competitiveness, he argued, was old thinking. The trouble is that this was unilateral disarmament. The suburbs and their Real Estate Industrial Complex enablers didn't reciprocate, but continued their quest to steal assets from the city. As a result, the economic center continued to shift to the fringes, very unlike the most vibrant cities that saw corporate headquarters and residents moving back to the core.
On the other hand, Stanton was beaten up for the much maligned taxpayer-financed Sheraton Hotel downtown, finally sold but at a $100 million loss. The reality is that market forces are so distorted here because of (highly subsidized) sprawl that the hotel would have been impossible without public investment. Building it made the Convention Center viable for large gatherings that had passed Phoenix by for decades, no small loss for a place with an enormous tourism economy. The hotel was also one of several elements that allowed downtown to reclaim its rightful place as the center of things in the metro area. It had to be done, and will be remembered as a smart move.
Unlike many previous mayors, Stanton did not have the wind at his back. Phoenix suffers from many problems — linear slums, a huge underclass, punching below its weight among peer cities, the "blood sport" rivalry from the suburbs, the Kooks at the capitol, and car dependency — that were beyond any single elected leader's ability to fix. So is the council dysfunction that allows members to reign as little princes once elected — district representation without at-large members and competition for each election is not healthy. The unnecessary destruction at the Burton Barr Central Library, one of the city's most important cultural assets, is a disgraceful exclamation point on Phoenix's conceit that city hall is all business and "works." Well, no. Stanton could have put more emphasis on the climate emergency confronting the city and preserving the oasis (why does the city keep throwing down gravel??).
I have no idea about Stanton's congressional chances. The district, being vacated by the blue-dog Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, partly encompasses the council district that Stanton successfully represented for years in the 2000s. But it has plenty of red areas, and it has perhaps become redder thanks to the Big Sort. Whether Janet Napolitano's "sensible center" still exists — and will actually vote or be allowed to vote — will be one of the most important questions facing the candidacies of both Democrats in 2018.
Stanton should win that seat unless he fails the litmus tests the Bernie Bros are busy formulating.
I return to Arizona about once a year, which is enough of a time lapse to see some interesting changes. Tempe really stands out but central Phoenix has made significant strides as well. Roosevelt Row no longer feels organic but it is undeniably urban in its scale. That there are also high-rise apartment buildings under construction downtown is fairly stunning even if they're leveraged with tax abatements. I may not live to see it, but downtown could walk again decades after its self-induced paralysis.
One way of measuring urban vibrancy is the food culture cities evolve and Phoenix is doing much better here than before. That there is a buzz about various chefs and restaurants is a good sign that the city has a creative class eager for something better than Applebee's and Red Robin. Martini bars, concert venues, and independent movie theaters are other signs. Politically, the bluer Phoenix (and Tempe) get, the more likely Arizona will trend purple. Arizona's long right-wing captivity might be drawing to a close. C'mon, boomers! Die already!
Terry Goddard was the first Arizona public official who understood the significance of urban assets. He pushed for historic preservation in a city that still preferred the sterilized landscapes of drive-by crud. That he saw Phoenix's potential represented a vision of the state not dependent on growth for growth's sake. Yes, that city would need good transit, public art, and human diversity. What else matters? The energy and beauty of great cities is the premier human achievement. That Phoenix chose to sleepwalk its way to mediocrity is tragic but if there are second chances available, seize that day.
Posted by: soleri | November 01, 2017 at 09:06 PM
Goddard spearheaded the District system in Phoenix. Is that what we wanted? Before District city government was an adjunct of the movers and shakers who owned the big businesses. They wined and dined out-of-state CEOs to move HQs and/or operations to Phoenix and it worked, worked fabulously.
Since District the city's elite have been absent from elective positions and policy making, leaving that to lobbyists and campaign contributions. The city of Phoenix has no social cachet within its own community and the effect has been noticed in its economic progress in comparison to its neighbors.
Posted by: ed dravo | November 02, 2017 at 09:13 PM
Stanton is(was) the mayoral version of Hillary. Small ball, risk aversion, decisions made on narrow political calculations, not principle or vision.
This is just an observation, and I believe a fair and true one, for those deciding whether to support him or not. I'm not stating this to re-start the debate on what type of leadership is most effective, realistic, or "grown up".
Posted by: Ex Phx Planner | November 03, 2017 at 04:13 PM
No worries Ex Phx Planner, Trump country Arizona will replace Sinema with someone possessing the principles and vision of the current occupant of the White House.
Posted by: Lost in Scottsdale | November 03, 2017 at 06:34 PM
Excellent appraisal of ex mayors and the state of Phoenix,especially Goddard who got railroaded by the developer industrial class. Stanton would be a good fit for Synemas seat.
Posted by: Mike Doughty | November 04, 2017 at 12:16 PM
Until Arizona decides to become more cosmopolitan, accepting of "difference," and philosophically open to the rest of the world, Phoenix will always have the "drag" of the rest of the state (all apologies to Tucson and Bisbee)to deal with. The world is changing rapidly--especially demographically, and until Arizona embraces those trends, Phoenix will be seen through the lens of Arizona's stodgy and reactionary extreme conservatism.
Posted by: Bradley Dranka | November 05, 2017 at 10:50 AM
All I can say is, I am glad I live in Ruben Gallego's congressional district.
Posted by: Tina May | May 22, 2018 at 09:01 PM
Great summary! I would like to see the Council expand with a couple at-large council seats.
Posted by: Michael James | May 22, 2018 at 09:43 PM