West Valley-Opolis

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by trish in Latest Dirt

Sure, the West Valley is made up of 13 unique and distinctive cities, and sure, we who live here dabble in a bit of friendly competition and parochial pride, but let’s be honest: To anyone east of I-17, and to many of us west, the West Valley is just one big place. We might cherish the charm of old Litchfield Park; boast about the beauty of Lake Pleasant, take the in-laws antiquing in Glendale and the zoo in Goodyear, but as we cross borders from one city to the next, we don’t see the lines.  And that’s a good thing.
The West Valley is frequently credited with having a good handle on regionalism.  Our generally unified position toward the preservation of Luke Air Force Base and the cooperative efforts that resulted in the acceleration of the widening of I-10 in the Southwest Valley are hallmarks of the collaboration that has helped the region grow so quickly so well. We’ve got a lot in common.  Primarily, we’ve grown up together.  And we did it fast.
Leadership West, which cultivates leadership capital for the West Valley, recruits leaders from all 13 of the cities, focusing attention on the issues that affect all of us and encouraging the sharing of ideas and resources as we tackle our problems together.  In areas of politics, education and the arts, other West Valley institutions have also experienced success by embracing regionalism.
One of the most renowned local experts on the topic of regionalism is Diane McCarthy.  McCarthy was a co-founder of Leadership West and the past president of WESTMARC, the Western Maricopa Coalition that advocates for good public policy in the West Valley.  She is also the Director of Business Partnerships and Legislative affairs at West-MEC (Western Maricopa Education Center), which is a regional school district that delivers career and technical education in twelve school districts.
“When WESTMARC was launched in the early 90’s, times were bad,” she says.  “Cities and towns had a reason to band together, each helping one another – the old “rising tide” theory that improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants in that economy.  They learned that the theory really is true; all of them were helped in a variety of ways.  When times got better the cities and towns were used to working together, so it seemed natural to continue.  While there have been “transgressions” along the way, by and large regionalism works well in the West Valley.
Jack Lunsford is the CEO of WESTMARC today. “The nature of governance in the West Valley essentially forces regional collaboration.  Infrastructure issues like transportation, education, healthcare, Luke AFB and air and water pollution know no boundaries.  With 13 incorporated cities and towns in the West Valley and Maricopa County itself, the only way to address and solve regional issues is through cooperation.”
“The West Valley is such a unique area.  It’s a large land mass made up of many small to medium sized cities,” says Julie Richard, President and CEO of the West Valley Arts Council.  “It makes sense to have an overall coordinating entity like the Council to tie the cultural community together.  We promote every cultural event in the West Valley, centralizing the distribution of information.  We also provide a unifying factor for the cultural organizations and artists that live and work in the West Valley.  Our regional approach has gone far in creating a sense of cooperation and oneness among the arts community that did not exist prior to these efforts.”
In these economic times, regionalism makes more sense than ever.  As we face our collective difficulties, it is our collective voices which are more likely to be heard.  When resources are scarce, sharing is a logical option.  By viewing our neighboring cities as truly our neighbors, we are more likely to foster good will and maintain a cooperative spirit.  After all, we’re all in this together.
Kathy Knect is the Executive Director of Leadership West whose mission is to cultivate leadership capital for the West Valley. Learn more at www.leadership.org