The Real Deal

A large group of friends and peers gathered in the office of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon tonight to celebrate the work and accomplishments of Mr. Scott Phelps, who was the Mayor's Communications Director until today at 5pm, when he began his retirement. A 19-year employee of the Mayor's office and a nearly thirty-year civil servant in various capacities, Scott chose early retirement ahead of upcoming budget cuts mandated city-wide. Had he not elected to do so, it would have meant a less senior employee (or more than one, since Scott had a relatively high salary by city standards) would have been out of work; a situation Scott was quoted as saying "would certainly not have been acceptable."

You can find plenty of accolades of Scott on the web, so I won't be too expansive with mine. He's affable, intelligent, and absolutely tuned-in. He makes friends easily and has tons of them. Even after nearly thirty years of being in the orbit of the local political world, he seems remarkably un-jaded and un-guarded. He once devoted some of his scarce time to advising me how to work within the system to get something done - note that I said "within" and not "around" the system. Scott's response to my gratitude was to say "Government should be in the business of achieving the right outcome." It's the attitude and mindset we can only HOPE our public servants will have.

It's further testament to Scott as a person that among the many well wishers were political operatives of both major parties, as well as two former Phoenix mayors, business people, media personalities, sports personalities and a contingent from the Phoenix zoo - just one of the local concerns Scott has made better with his service over the years.

Along with the recent retirement of Frank Fairbanks after 20 years of HIS service as Phoenix City Manager, Scott Phelps' departure highlights the importance of the unelected and mostly unlauded people BEHIND the scenes of our government. Scott worked for several different mayors during his career with the City, in both Republican and Democratic administrations. His devotion was to the City and its citizens, rather than to a person or party. In truth, Scott, Fairbanks, and other long term civil servants have an impact every bit as important, if sometimes less tangible, as that of the elected officials they report to.

Without them, there would be no continuity, no institutional memory, and reckless follow-through, if any, on long-term goals and projects. Without Fairbanks' dedication, spanning multiple administrations, Valley lightrail would still be a dream and downtown redevelopment would have stagnated. With the wisdom and network of contacts that only comes with time, Scott Phelps was able to help new administrations hit the ground running and avoid many of the pitfalls and errors of rookiedom. He put the right people in touch with the right people. What's more, these men didn't need to make a profit with each connection. They weren't "owned," except by us.

It will be interesting to see where each of these men target their talents next. They are both retiring with many good years left, and it's unlikely they will be satisfied with lives of leisure. For all his joking about having time on his hands now, I doubt that Scott's Blackberry will actually get much of a rest. If nothing else, there is a small army of public servants that both of these gentlemen have inspired and who, if they find themselves at a loss, will be well-advised to "use a lifeline."