Jim Thompson. Photo Credit: City of Scottsdale
While it is the nature of many of us to nitpick and complain when things in life aren’t perfect, the fact of the matter is that there are precious few things to complain about in Scottsdale. This city has long been so exemplary that while other cities can gripe about serious crime and quality of life issues, our problems are benign by comparison. It is a city that typifies the top of the pyramid in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
While there are many reasons why this is the case, one massive reason has been the leadership of one man. While the Mayor and city council often get the credit and the blame, the successes of the city are executed on by our City Manager Jim Thompson. But that steady leadership will come to an end at the end of December as Thompson heads to greener pastures, quite literally in this case, taking a city manager role in Colorado.
Thompson has been in the role since the start of 2017, but even that period was the culmination of what was already a long career in municipal management. He came over from Casa Grande, where he held the city manager role since 2004. Before that, he had related roles in cities as varied as Bullhead City, Bothell, Washington, and Sterling, Colorado. He now has over 30 years of experience in the realm of municipal management.
What can be said about his tenure? Probably the most that can be said is how issue-free it has been. During Thompson’s tenure he has worked with two different mayors and vastly different city councils, and yet leadership has been stable and largely devoid of significant issues. From Covid to the Super Bowl extravaganza, difficult problems were largely handled well.
Perhaps the best marker of success is how many businesses have set up shop in Scottsdale. Even though there are significantly lower business costs in most other places in the Valley, many have chosen Scottsdale. It has become a burgeoning center of tech in the area, with the cherry on top being global giant ASM’s decision to put a massive fabrication center here.
However, through all of those wins, and there were many…you probably never heard about Jim Thompson. While politicians take the credit, it is the city managers who toil behind the scenes to execute these plans flawlessly, working quietly to make seamless experiences for residents.
We’re not sure who has permanent successor will be, but one thing is for certain: there are much tougher positions to have than this one. Thompson has left this city in a great place, and for that we are thankful, as his successor should be as well.