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City Councilman Greg Stanton
District 6 Inaugural Address
A City on the Rise – Jan. 3, 2006
 Good morning. I am honored to stand before you today and humbled by the trust placed in me by the people of District 6. Four years ago, when I spoke at my first formal inauguration, I said that for me, leaving the full time practice of law and entering public service was the one of my best decisions of my life. Well, now after serving the past four years and even dealing with a number of challenging issues – like roof rat invasions, too many city budget cuts, water turbidity and Donald Trump - I can again state without hesitation that I made the right decision. I love public service, I love the city of Phoenix more than ever and I consider it a great honor to serve.
Though one downfall is that I am pretty sure Donald Trump won’t be asking me to appear on his The Apprentice television show any time soon.
I offer my sincere congratulations to my City Council colleagues also being inaugurated today. Each of you was successful in your election in September because of your leadership and commitment to the people of your district. Each of you has a body of work to be proud of. It is an honor to serve with you and call you my friends.
Phoenix is a city of great opportunity as I know from personal experience. Having grown up on the west side of the city in the heart of what is now known as the west Phoenix revitalization area, having been raised in a working class family where my father took the Phoenix city bus to work everyday, having attended our local public schools, I grew to love this city and I realize how lucky I am to have a role in guiding our community’s future. As I say to young people in schools when I have the chance to speak to them: In Phoenix, unlike many other places in our country, the only thing holding you back from taking a leadership role is your willingness to work hard and get involved.
I cannot possibly name all of the people who should be thanked for their support in helping me achieve my dream of public service, however I do want to mention just a few.
Thank you to my family and especially to my wonderful wife Nicole. To get married and have an election in the same year made for a very busy 2005. Nicole- thank you for your support, your encouragement, your advice and your love. I would not be standing here without you. Thanks to my parents Fred and Mary Ann- those who know me know how proud I am of my parents- you have always set a wonderful example of giving back to our Phoenix community that continues to inspire me. And thank you to my little brother Desmond who has stuck with me for over 11 years. Good luck in your basketball game tonight!
I am grateful to my campaign team, Pam, Mindy, Jessica, Stephanie and Michelle, and proud of the type of campaign we ran- an old fashioned door-to-door, living room-to-living room campaign. We took no vote for granted.
A huge thank you is owed to my District 6 staff here at city hall- Marc, Kweilin, Melody, Danielle and Judy. As much as anything, the election results were due to your consistent hard work and professionalism. You care about the people we serve, and it shows in your strong work ethic and follow through.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank the volunteer members of the village planning committees in my district: Ahwatukee Foothills, Camelback East, and Alhambra. Your passion for our community makes this a better place to live. For that matter, thanks to all of the volunteers serving on city of Phoenix boards and commissions. Our system would not work without their advice and guidance.
I must say a word about our City Manager, Frank Fairbanks and his staff. Frank, our city needs your leadership, wisdom and guidance now more than ever.
Most importantly, thank you to the people of District 6 for your vote of confidence and trust. I will continue to work as hard as I can to advocate for you and our entire city.
This is an exciting time to serve on the City Council and serve as chair of the Knowledge Economy, Education, Arts and Culture subcommittee. Phoenix is a city on the rise, and I have great optimism about our future. However, I believe we are at a critical crossroads in our city’s development. Our population continues to grow at an astounding rate, and we now stand at almost 1.5 million people.
But as Aristotle said, “A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.”
What may have in the past been accepted as a norm, no longer can be. In the Phoenix of my youth, a collective cheer went out as Phoenix moved up the populations ranks. No more. Today, the people of our city want quality. We can do better, and must do better if we are to realize our potential as a great city. The world we live in today is different and our decision making must reflect this reality. In the new economy of today, we are competing with other regions both nationally and internationally. To build the quality of life we all want and to compete successfully, our focus must be on building a higher educated workforce and a diverse, higher-wage economy. As a city on the rise we cannot remain static: either we move forward or we fall behind.
What does a city on the rise -- specifically Phoenix -- look like?
A city on the rise improves our strong partnership with local schools. Just a few years ago, the city and our local public school districts did not communicate well. Over the last few years, our city/school partnerships have improved dramatically. The education subcommittee has focused a great deal of attention on these partnerships, and we led the effort to begin the After School Excellence Initiative, making our city-sponsored after-school programs stronger in academics to help our schools achieve their academic mission. Over the next four years, I will work to expand this initiative to all 166 city-sponsored after-school programs. Additionally, I will continue to ensure that our city programs promote a higher high school graduation rate. If we don’t get our hearts and minds around the high school drop out problem, it will be impossible to compete successfully in the new economy.
A city on the rise will expand our higher education partnerships with universities and the Maricopa community colleges. When I joined the Council I was asked to lead the effort to increase higher education opportunities in Phoenix. Our local economy is closely tied to the quality of our higher education institutions and access to higher education for all. This is why our ongoing partnerships with ASU and UofA in creating undergraduate, graduate and medical education opportunities are so critical. We owe a big debt of gratitude for the leadership of Governor Napolitano, for standing strong in the last legislative session for initial funding for the UofA medical school, now under construction in the heart of our city.
Over the next four years, I will help advocate for full funding for medical school in Phoenix. Education partnerships are also a priority for Mayor Gordon and are the hallmark of our upcoming bond election this March, and I am confident the people of Phoenix will support this vision.
A city on the rise acts boldly to take advantage of strategic opportunities. A few years ago, when I was asked to lead the City Council effort to recruit the International Genomics Consortium, genomics was not part of our local vocabulary. Now it is an integral piece of our economic future. Phoenix provided the leadership and energy for the collaborative effort that led to the successful recruitment and development of IGC and TGen and the biosciences campus in the heart of our city. The next four years will see great advancements on the biomedical campus with additional research facilities and education opportunities- and we will keep our promise to ensure that our education system receives tangible benefit from these investments with the development of the biotech high school. When we said research and education were the hallmark of our economic future, we meant it!
A city on the rise acts regionally, not parochially. Our success depends on Phoenix partnering with our sister communities in the Valley, and vice versa. The challenges of the new economy demand this. District 6 alone borders six other jurisdictions including the Gila River Indian Community. Regional partnerships, such as the effort I will lead to work closely with Tempe and Scottsdale to plan for the future of Papago Park in the heart of our Valley, are critical for us to compete successfully.
A city on the rise is a safe one and one that makes strong neighborhoods a priority. We have two of the finest and most innovative public safety organizations in the country in our police and fire departments. A sincere thank you goes to Police Chief Jack Harris, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Jake Jacobsen, Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini and United Phoenix Firefighters President Billy Shields for their leadership.
We cannot be a city on the rise without protecting our neighborhoods and helping to revitalize neighborhoods in need. In District 6, the fight for strong neighborhoods includes developing special planning districts to protect the character of established neighborhoods and fighting the hyper-clustering of high level sex offenders in our neighborhoods.
A city on the rise is one that values arts and culture. A vibrant arts and culture environment and success in the new economy go hand in hand. This must include not only our arts and culture institutions, but also the artists living and working in the core of our city. I appreciate their advocacy. As chair of the arts and culture committee, I will work to ensure that under our award-winning percent for the arts program, a percent means a full one percent.
A city on the rise embraces diversity. As we grow in population, we become a city with diverse cultures from around the world. If we are to maximize our success, we must take advantage of our diverse cultures and talents.
A city on the rise protects our urban core infrastructure. Phoenix is a growing city but we must remember that our central core is older and a key challenge facing our city is to maintain and improve our central city infrastructure. One positive step in this direction is the recently adopted plan to fix the east Phoenix residential water pressure problem, which has been a problem for neighborhoods in my district for decades.
A city on the rise is a pedestrian-friendly city. With this ethic in mind, we built Kyrene Monte Vista student safety bridge and we will soon begin construction of the Camelback Road Underbridge. When completed, this underbridge will be a shining example that Phoenix is making pedestrians a priority in our high traffic areas like the Biltmore core. We cannot be a great city unless we are a pedestrian-friendly city.
A city on the rise embraces mass transit and adopts transportation policies that support our neighborhoods and best protect our environment.
Finally, a city on the rise is one with a big heart. All people in our community must benefit from our success, not just a select few. With this in mind, as chair of the MAG Regional Continuum of Care, I will continue to advocate for our regional plan to end homelessness. It is a worthy and achievable goal.
Phoenix is a city on the rise. But we will not succeed by chance. Focused leadership and bold decision-making are necessary for it to happen. I look forward to working with each of you over the next four years and beyond to achieve our goals. Happy New Year and God Bless!
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