Paradise Valley: Honoring The #1 Job of Government

During a heated 2012 campaign between Scott Lemarr and Maria Syms to be Paradise Valley’s Mayor a well-known couple was murdered in the province. It shocked the Valley. Around that time too were a rash of burglaries in the northern part of the community. While Mayor Lemarr won re-election there was undoubtedly nervousness in the town. Paradise-VAlley-RED-Senior-Living
But he acted. And the town acted. Led by Town Councilman Michael Collins, the Paradise Valley Public Safety Task Force involved numerous stakeholders committed to improvement and reform.
The results are starting to speak for themselves. While any crime is one too many Chief Bennett’s latest monthly report shows a 50% drop in crime from this February, compared to last year.
By any measure that’s a job very well done. By policy makers who understood that there is always room for improvement, and by the police officers themselves who worked with them to incorporate the additional resources and effectiveness.
Amidst talk of budgets, resorts, developments and roads one can forget what government’s top job will always be. Mayor Lemarr and the Paradise Valley Town Council did not. They didn’t talk to hear themselves. They did so to make a difference. And they have.