Mesa residents have to take charge of a citywide transformation, Mayor Scott Smith says, and he wants them to start with Facebook and their cell phones.
Smith is calling on residents to plan what he considers transformative community projects that will last generations, but he's starting in the virtual world.
The ideas will be collected via cell phone applications or web-based products, and only after time will Mesa assemble people in the same room to refine the plan.
Smith dubbed his plan iMesa.
The proposal came out at Smith's annual address to community leaders on Thursday, when he lamented that he doesn't want his children and grandchildren to inherit Mesa as it is today. Parts of the city haven't had any attention since he was a child, he said, while some newer parts offer almost no amenities.
"We have to make a conscious decision as to whether we're going to be in survival mode or whether we're going to be in growth mode," Smith said.
Like most governments, Mesa's been shrinking since the nationwide recession began in 2007. The city responded by slashing nearly 400 workers, cutting spending 15 percent and seeing sales tax revenue fall 21 percent. The city has to stop only thinking about the next round of cuts, Smith said, because any more scaling back would trigger painful cuts to service.
The iMesa initiative is a fitting name for a mayor who loves Apple products like the iPhone. Smith unveiled his plan before an audience of 400 while using an iPad to control a slideshow - but he went even farther into the Apple realm. He vanished from stage at one point, shedding his business suit and tie for jeans as if to resemble Apple leader Steve Jobs.
He stressed technology's role in the initiative. Residents who want to participate must sign in to the city's website - www.mesaaz.gov/imesa - and then can leave ideas. They each get 10 votes to cast for or against other ideas. Smith and the City Council will eventually assemble citizen panels to make recommendations, though he admitted the structure will depend entirely on what kind of ideas come in. He plans to carve the city into five or six villages, following the Phoenix model of planning the city based on each area's character.
It will take about one year to come up with recommendations, and some may require voter approval in 2012 or even 2014. Smith said his only rule is there are no constraints at first.
"When we dream, we can't have those restraints," Smith said. "Those restraints will play out soon enough and we'll deal with those. But in the initial stages, no restraints."
Mesa voters have a reputation for saying no at the polls, Smith said, but he considers that unfair. He noted voters overwhelmingly approved a plan to finance a new Chicago Cubs complex, an incentive plan for a Gaylord resort and numerous bond packages.
Smith didn't offer any specific projects for his initiative, saying it's entirely up to residents to set priorities.
He said he'd been asked if he feared his initiative could fail, and he admitted it could.
"This is a big risk. We're putting it all out there," Smith said. "I'm literally throwing something out that could either be a grand success or a colossal, wimpy, just puff of smoke. I get that you don't get anywhere without taking risks. You don't get anywhere without doing something bold. This can be as bold as the citizens of Mesa want it to be."
Freethinker posted at 3:41 pm on Thu, Jan 27, 2011.
Hi Mr. Mayor, I would love to help you with this initiative...unfortunately several weeks ago a felon (illegal alien) stole my laptop.
Any chance you could do something about these felons littering our streets? There are several dozen, probably more, in plain sight on major Mesa streets every morning.
Log out of Facebook and look out your windows once in awhile - Mesa is a REAL, not virtual, city...and it needs help!
TruthSeeker posted at 5:47 pm on Thu, Jan 27, 2011.
"Mesa voters have a reputation for saying no at the polls, Smith said, but he considers that unfair. "
Why is voting unfair? Because it excludes felons and illegal aliens? Why should they have a voice in our community? Become a law-abiding citizen, learn to speak English, and then you can vote. That IS fair.
Scott Smith is no Steven Jobs.[rolleyes]
mymesa posted at 6:01 pm on Thu, Jan 27, 2011.
Ok genius freethinker, if you can log in and comment on this article you obviously got past the stolen laptop and can participate. Civil dialog may be beyond your capacity but think about it.
Freethinker posted at 7:02 pm on Thu, Jan 27, 2011.
mymesa wrote:
"Civil dialog may be beyond your capacity"
mymesa ALSO wrote:
"Ok genius freethinker"
Before accusing others of not being civil, how about you grow a pair and stop the unprovoked insults.
That way you won't look like an ignorant hypocrite on a public comment board. ;)
Leon Ceniceros posted at 8:30 am on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
Will Mesa Mayor Smith also be sponsoring an "yMESA" (en Espanol, por favor) website for the thousands and thousands of illegal aliens that moved to Mesa when it was a "SANCTUARY CITY" ????
abimopectore posted at 11:44 am on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
Nice try Leon, but it would actually be "iMesa" in Spanish too. Your use of "yMesa" would imply "and Mesa" instead of referring to the "i" of "internet" where the term for the most part originates from. Internet is "internet" in Spanish as well. What is most poorly reflected in such commentary is how you tout yourself as a Spanish speaker yet are unable to achieve what you originally sought out to do, which is to demean the very culture from where you come from.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 4:12 pm on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
From the Heart (ab imo pectore),
As a lover of the Latin language, you of all people should be acquainted with the "i latina" and the "y griega" being used interchangeably in different parts of Spain. I hope that your personal attack was just due to the "passion of the moment" and not just more "MSNBC-ish ATTACK DOG RHETORIC". We were all hoping that the sad events in Tucson had calmed down unnecessary and hurtful "hate speech" of the past (on both sides). Can't we all just get along as Rodney King so eloquently stated.
abimopectore posted at 5:10 pm on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
Nice try again Leon, but your letter derivations don't apply with usage as understood by Mayor Smith's usage of "iMesa". That is unless you're trying to convolute the issue by selectively choosing the letter that should be used in Spanish for what has been accepted as "internet" for the "i" in "iMesa." It might be true if we were talking about a word that existed many years ago when usage was more interchangeable, and not the modern era, from whence the word "internet" has surfaced. As I stated previously, "internet" is internet in Spanish and not "ynternet" as you're claiming, which makes your argument all the more silly. Now if you're were referring to the name Ybarra, then yes you'd have some justification.
VivaSB1070 posted at 7:15 pm on Fri, Jan 28, 2011.
'i' have a vision of Mesa Mayor Smith.
It is a city where I can drive down Gilbert or Broadway and not have to look at dozens upon dozens of illegal alien criminal invaders standing around, throwing trash on the ground, relieving themselves against neighborhood walls.
Make the entire city of Mesa illegal alien free zone. It won't even take technology to achieve this. Just use existing laws. Well you could call up Sheriff Joe on your iPhone, request ongoing sweeps until the last illegal heads out of Dodge.
Freethinker posted at 11:44 am on Sat, Jan 29, 2011.
I share that vision, Viva.
Unfortunately, that's all it seems to be right now...a vision.