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Councilman Greg Stanton's
My Turn Column
The Arizona Republic
June 19, 2004
Ahwatukee Foothills High Ranking Well Deserved
As your city councilman representing Ahwatukee Foothills, I have a great job. Not only am I your advocate at city hall, but this job affords me the opportunity to get to know the people of our community well. This job allows me the honor to represent the neighborhood recently listed by Money magazine as one of the best neighborhoods in America. Now, for some living outside our community, who view Ahwatukee Foothills as the "world's biggest cul de sac" or "land of the red tile roofs," Money magazine's designation may be surprising. But they do not know what we know about our community.
You see, because my job allows me to connect with so many people in Ahwatukee Foothills, I am in a special position to draw a conclusion about our community. My conclusion is that the reason Ahwatukee Foothills was listed as one of the best neighborhoods in America is because of the strength of our community values. The people of Ahwatukee Foothills care passionately about family, education and their future. This is the consistent theme I hear when I walk our neighborhoods or hold community town halls. Education excellence is at the forefront of peoples' minds. Our schools rank among the best in the state -- we entrust them with our most valuable asset -- the future leaders of our community and our world.
The heart and soul of Ahwatukee, our citizens, also have a strong sense of community identity. Though we are part of Phoenix, our community has the virtues of a small town- and the longer one lives here the smaller it gets.
Further, we maintain a business climate that promotes small business entrepreneurship- and John McComish and the Ahwatukee Chamber do a superb job of supporting small business locally. Small business represents the backbone of our community and national economy.
My job as your councilman is to work closely with the mayor and other councilmembers to ensure local city services keep up with the excellence of our community. This is critically important to ensure that Ahwatukee Foothills maintains its nationally recognized quality of life well into the future- so our kids and grandkids can enjoy what we do now. Some of our recent successes include:
* Major Public Safety Improvements. We added crucial fire safety and medical emergency equipment to our community and recently opened Fire Station 43 at 40th and Chandler. We increased the number police officers working in our community and opened an expanded police substation. In the near future we will open a larger permanent police substation, something local residents have been asking for.
* Transportation. Our local ALEX system is a huge hit- with significantly more ridership than expected. The route is expanded to include Pecos Park, and I will work to ensure that the Foothills are also provided this useful service. The new RAPID service provides great access directly to downtown.
* Recreation. The recent opening of Pecos Park provided much needed open space and ball fields to our community. This 65-acre regional park is a gem in our Phoenix parks system. The park has a variety of great activities, including numerous ball fields, dog park, playground, skate park, and a community pool that is the best in our city system. The park will be home in the not too distant future to the permanent police substation, a multigenerational center (for both our seniors and youth), a community center, and a citizen's service center.
Ahwatukee Foothills IS one of the best neighborhoods in America and serves as a model for other communities. My job as your advocate is to partner with you to build on our successes. Working together, we will ensure the brightest possible future.
Greg Stanton is a Phoenix City Councilman representing Ahwatukee Foothills.
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