Jon Talton Leaving the Republic (Phoenix, Mesa: appointed, real estate, crime)

[exit2lef]

Jon Talton, Business and Op-Ed columnist for the Arizona Republic, is leaving the paper as a result of a recent reorganization. Talton had an interesting perspective. He is a Phoenix native who lived many other places and then moved back to his hometown. While he claimed to see a lot of potential for Phoenix, he never could seem to overcome a chronic sense of negativity in his columns. He would often start with a worthwhile observation about a challenge facing the area, but then become so bleak in his language that the message of his column came across as "Give up on Phoenix and move to Denver (or Charlotte, or whatever city he seemed to like that day)."

In his most amazing act of naysaying, he wrote about the serious corruption and ethics problems facing San Diego's municipal government. Through the most serpentine logic I've ever seen, Talton found a way to make the near-collapse of municipal government in San Diego another excuse to bash Phoenix. In another misguided column, he complained about the Arizona Legislature being overrun by extremists (a true statement in years past) and urged voters to throw all the bums out. He then acted disappointed a few months later when even more extreme voices became prevalent in the legislature because voters had agreed with him and gotten rid of moderate incumbents.

I really do think Talton's heart was in the right place, but his incessant negativity ultimately made him ineffective as a columnist and a liability for the Republic. Read for yourself, if interested, at www.azcentral.com/columns/

[micrguy]

Hard to believe that Talton was a columnist in the business section considering he did not seem to have a clue about the types of business that flourish in Phoenix. Talton always complained about the lack of corporate headquarters in Phoenix and seemed to ignore that it was small business that was responsible for most of the growth in Phoenix. Maybe he can find another city to whine and complain about.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by micrguy

Hard to believe that Talton was a columnist in the business section considering he did not seem to have a clue about the types of business that flourish in Phoenix. Talton always complained about the lack of corporate headquarters in Phoenix and seemed to ignore that it was small business that was responsible for most of the growth in Phoenix. Maybe he can find another city to whine and complain about.

Good point. Talton had a valid complaint that Phoenix has too many back offices and not enough headquarters, but he consistently ignored Phoenix's ranking among the top cities for small business incubation. It's not so much that Talton was wrong about Phoenix's problems; it's that he always managed to overlook the many good traits of the city.

[JayPatrick]

Since I'm not in business in Phoenix, I probably should not be adding my two cents worth. However, I have always appreciated Jon's critical analysis, even if he did lack the "
three cheers" chamber of commerce glowing and often optimism that usually is an insincere coverup for meanspirited, dehumanized policies!

Certainly, millions of greater fools find Phoenix a place worth living in, but for many of the rest of us a visit to Phoenix is next to getting a tooth pulled.

If and when the boom is lowered through some sort of "perfect economic storm" Phoenix will become more of a wasteland than it already is! Enjoy your luxury neighborhoods featuring growing numbers of "green pools"!

What we need is more straight-shooters to let us know when the emporer has no clothes!

[HX_Guy]

Wow, passionate about hating Phoenix?

I don't get why people seem to have this mission to let everyone know how, in their opinion, Phoenix is the worst place on earth. If you don't like it, great, but different people like different things. Believe what you believe and keep it to yourself, it's like religion and the followers of each trying to tell everyone how great theirs is.
It sounds like you are rooting for Phoenix to fail and the day it does (if it ever) will be the happiest day of your life. What exactly do you have to gain?

Here's a question...what is a city do you find to be the complete opposite of Phoenix and your perfect heaven?

[sablebaby]

It just shows how much a life this person has. Can you imagine a life with so much negativity?

[Andre5140]

As someone who recently moved here, I, too, think there are many things to hate about this region. BUT...i've chalked it up to not realizing i was in a different environment than Michigan. I need to give it a chance.

Phoenix actually is a great place to be. It's hard to imaging a place with a more beautiful natural environment, beautiful climate, beautiful women, and cheap cost of living. I need to shut up and be thankful. Many of us do. We have to much idle time if all we resort to is sitting on this forum and complaining.

The entire country is suffering. You know it is bad when the nations biggest asset...real estate...is tanking everywhere. Blame over development. Blame the awful lending practices. Blame the Federal Reserve. Blame, blame, blame until we're all depressed from being spoiled for so long. We live like kings and queens in this country so I, for one, am going to stop my b*tching.

FYI: for everyone who grows tired of Phoenix, I've found some quick-fixes for your depression:
1) Visit gorgeous San Diego then whine about cost of living.
2) Go to LA and marvel how they have higher crime than we do.
3) Head back to visit your home state of Michigan (like me) and see how depressed they are thanks to a bad economy.
4) Enjoy the culture of San Francisco...and your 250 square foot closet you recently purchased for $2 million.
5) Take in a foggy Boston morning while always realizing that it snows big time and even their population is dwindling.
6) Visit Manhattan...and race back to the "clean air" of Phoenix.
7) Go to North Carolina and crab about the humidity and mosquitos that carried your wife away one dark night while you two were out on the porch.
8) Visit Denver and think, "Hmm....it's hard to breathe in all this THIN AIR!!"
9) Tour Seattle and moan about it misting and spitting rain 24/7.
10) The cornfields of Kansas sure are nice this time of year....sighhhh.
11) Visit beautiful Montana, where your 365 day fishing operation earns you a whopping $5,000 per year!

Yeah folks, we sure have it rough here, let me tell ya!

If nothing else, you people give me hope and reason to be happy. Thanks so much! In the meantime, try to ride the wave and things will improve, as they have for centuries.

Cheers, folks!

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by micrguy

Hard to believe that Talton was a columnist in the business section considering he did not seem to have a clue about the types of business that flourish in Phoenix. Talton always complained about the lack of corporate headquarters in Phoenix and seemed to ignore that it was small business that was responsible for most of the growth in Phoenix. Maybe he can find another city to whine and complain about.

I didn't agree much with Talton's politics, and he was negative at times ... but he made lots of good points about the lack of large corporate headquarters in the Phoenix area. Small business is just that: SMALL. In the nation's fifth largest city, and one of the top 15 metro areas, there should be more large corporations basing their headquarters here. Phoenix is the largest city in the nation with the fewest number of Fortune 500 companies. Why is that a virtue?!

Might I suggest that those of you who want to keep Phoenix small step outside & open your eyes: we're not small. We haven't been for many years. This place already has plenty of crime, pollution, and traffic problems typical of a big city. Can't we offset that with some big city positives?

[jtalton]

read my new blog,
[url=http://www.roguecolumnist.com]Rogue Columnist[/url]

[chicago-mik]

I currently live in Phoenix and I read Talton avidly before he left.

His biggest concern was that as a metropolitan area, Phoenix did not have a "critical mass" or self sustaining economy. This was unique to Phoenix considering its size. Even
Denver and Portland were the center of their regions.

His concerns centerd on the fact that the regional power cities, Mesa Scottsdale Tempe and Phoenix could not and would not cooperate with a each other on basic economic plans and competed, hense the loss of the stadium from the east to the west....

The civic identity of Mesa is not " Phoenix" but Mesa...what a counter productive mindset.

Also importantly he felt that there were no civic planners or patrons to help guide the city in a specific direction, and he mourned the loss of headquarters because those people who run HQ's join with the civic leaders to lend vision and direction to a community.

I am certain he did not mean to insult civic minded ceo's like Debbie Gabie, as nice as she is, I think he meant major HQ's brough in real money, at least enough to make a difference, like Boening and P and G or America West....

Such loss or absence allowed for narrow minded politicians to pitch direction instead of true civic leaders .......Politicians in Pheonix are still living in the past as small minded and provincial to their own town. They lack the understanding of civic dynamics and the notion of critical mass and the benefits of quality urban planning.

The stupid splits of commerce between Downtown Phoenix the Central ave corridor and Biltmore is a perfect example of how city planners failed to recognize the synergy of mass and coordinated planning.

Politicians refused to reign in developers out of a misguided notion of less government. This led to un needed sprawl rather than coordinated business districts. It almost killed down town and his fear was that there was not yet enough coordinated business development that all three of these vital business districts would weahter the next economic downturn,one or all would have to suffer, wheras in a business district like Chicago or Denver or Portland the combined and concentrated economies help scale down damage as well as accelerate growth....

I will give you a perfrct example of narrow vision. I served personally on the most recent bond comittee in Phoenix. It was agreat experience. I got into a discsssion with a WELL known local business leader. He was a self made millionaire born and raised here. He did not see the value of THE ASU expansion in Phoenix.

His view was so narrow, he said he could not for the life of him think of any major city that would sponsor an Urban University,especially with ASU so close, So I mentioned the following cities:

New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC. Los Angeles among others. ( the Schools)? NYU, Univ of Chicago, Depaul, Loyola, NorthWestern, MIT, Harvard, Univ of Pensyvania, Georgetown, UCLA, USC, Stanford !!!

He realized his gaffe was really rooted in the provincial belief that Phoenix was still a small city. Its the only major US city without a University or Medical School.

Things like this will change in time, just not fast enough for John. IT was his mission to sound a clarion call.

Lastly his greatest fear has been realized. That Phoenix was a boom town economy whose major industry was growth. His fear was that when a building bust or recession came, it would be hard on Phoenix...Because its interests as a region were divided amongst the power cites and not united.

Every major metro in the country knows the thing that John preached but that Phoenix planners had refused to understand..

The regional cities bow to the major city. There is no Oakland without San Fran. They do not compete like Scottsdale and Phoenix.

There is no Foxboro without Boston, no Naperville without Chicago.......No Burbank without LA....

I think he was quite on point with his crticism of the City and its planning. Lets hope the full extent of his warning is not realized....