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Apache Junction curbs name change idea
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Apache Junction won’t be hiring an outside agency to look at the city’s public image any time soon, officials said Tuesday.
The Apache Junction City Council decided to abandon a "branding-imaging" study proposal by not voting on it, although the council’s inaction leaves the door open for reconsidering the idea in the future.
"(Residents) don’t want somebody else to come in and tell them about their community — what’s wrong with it," Vice Mayor R.E. Eck said, commenting on the many negative responses the city received about the issue.
Councilman Dave Waldron said it was unfortunate that the image proposal created a "nonstory" about the possibility of changing the city’s name, but that residents’ passionate reaction demonstrated the lack of public support for an image campaign.
Mayor Douglas Coleman, who was not at the meeting because of a death in the family, and Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce executive director Rayna Palmer have said they would be open to the idea of changing the city’s name with adequate public support.
Palmer said Tuesday that the proposal’s true purpose would have been to gather important data for economic development activities.
The council favored using city officials and residents to work on Apache Junction’s image without paying for outside help.
"We’re big boys — we can clean up our own town," Councilman John Insalaco said.
Chandler and Glendale are conducting image studies similar to the one that was proposed in Apache Junction. Eck and Councilman Kris Sippel suggested that the city might revisit the issue if either of those studies brings outstanding results.
Although he agreed that Apache Junction should forego the image study, Eck asked residents not to "point fingers" at the Chamber of Commerce for suggesting it. He said the proposal was made with good intentions.
"I think, ultimately, they want what we want," he said.
Council meeting attendees had a laugh when former Vice Mayor Anne Marie Surra identified herself as Sophia Loren to prove a point about the superficiality of image campaigns.
"You don’t have to brand yourself as a shining star," Surra said. "You are a shining star."
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