Tempe vote could signal a shift

For years, savvy Tempeans knew the way to get and keep power was to bow to a few sacred cows: Praise Tempe Town Lake. Hail downtown redevelopment, even if that meant condemning land or giving massive subsidies to private businesses. Endorse transit projects like light rail.

For bonus points, join the Sister City program or the Kiwanis Club.

Civic leaders who followed these rules ran the city for three decades, but their grip on power is weakening.

On Thursday, Onnie Shekerjian will join the City Council following a campaign that gored some of the sacred cows that defeated incumbent Len Copple embraced.

Shekerjian questioned the value of light rail and opposed eminent domain to build Tempe Marketplace. She’d never been a member of the Kiwanis Club or Sister City groups.

Her electoral victory in May came after Hugh Hallman became mayor two years ago in a landslide against Dennis Cahill, another pro-establishment Tempean. Hallman questioned the city’s financial dealings in redevelopment and the lake. He opposed eminent domain for Marketplace. He’s questioned light rail.

Hallman is a Tempe native but was viewed as an outsider when he ran for mayor and previously when he served a term on the council. Shekerjian also was seen as an outsider despite a decade of education activism in the city.

Many longtime Tempe observers see Shekerjian’s and Hallman’s victories as a significant political shift after years of civic leaders who embraced the status quo. One of the biggest signs of a shift is that voters didn’t buy into a major piece of Copple’s campaign, that he won the endorsement of six former mayors.

“Hugh and Onnie represent more of an outsider thinking than the previous government,” said Michael Monti, owner of downtown landmark Monti’s La Casa Vieja. “We had government by the Shalimar Mafia for 30 years, and I say that half in jest.”

The Shalimar neighborhood is home to many of the city’s political and business leaders. People from that part of town who rose to power put aside conservative or liberal philosophies to support things like the lake, education and light rail.

Even critics of Tempe’s establishment give it credit for transforming a bleak downtown into one of the Valley’s hippest places. They give kudos for Town Lake, too. But those outside the power structure contend it was too freewheeling with money and gave developers the run of the city.

Shekerjian’s election is part of a trend of Tempe becoming more orderly, said Jim Lemmon, a north Tempe activist. He noted that the city for decades turned its head from rampant sex in north Tempe parks, which city officials cracked down on only a few years ago.

“We’re seeing a shift in Tempe from a kind of laissez faire, as long as it doesn’t hurt me or kids or puppies, it’s OK,” said Lemmon, who also is a Tempe Elementary School District board member. “So certainly I think Tempe is becoming more conservative.”

Shekerjian dismisses the idea that her victory was about conservative politics because voters rarely asked about political leanings. Instead, voters liked her call for the city to pay more attention to neighborhoods and basic services, she said.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of conservative or liberal,” Shekerjian said. “It’s more about being responsive to people.”

The two other victors in the spring election — incumbent Ben Arredondo and newcomer Shana Ellis — also won by touting neighborhood issues, Shekerjian said.

Ellis also will be sworn in Thursday, but she’s no stranger to Tempe. She just ended a 20-year career at the Tempe Community Council, a social services agency.

Some notable residents disputed the notion Tempe is shifting to the right. Former Mayor Neil Giuliano argued it’s more significant that Ellis won by a large margin in a primary, while Shekerjian won by just a few percentage points in a runoff.

“I don’t think Tempe can be characterized as liberal or conservative — if you have to label it, it is clearly an educated and moderate electorate that likes balance and looks beyond labels,” Giuliano wrote in an e-mail.

Shekerjian likely will make some changes, said Dan Durrenberger, a Tempe resident and political consultant. But she will have only limited ability to alter the city’s present course on major issues, he said.

Tempe is largely run by staff, Durrenberger said, not elected officials. Tempe’s major goals were set long ago, like building Town Lake and redeveloping downtown — and no election will undo those things, Durrenberger argued.

“You can affect some things on the periphery, but all the major cards are on the table and they were dealt several years ago,” he said.

The Shalimar Mafia’s supposed power was disputed by Dick Neuheisel, a former councilman who founded Tempe Sister City and owns Shalimar Golf Course. He contends Tempe has never had a group that firmly held power.

Neuheisel said it’s impossible to know for sure whether the City Council will be much different with Shekerjian and without Copple. The two might have more in common than people thought, he said. For example, Copple was involved with the Sister City program, and Neuheisel said Shekerjian recently told him she’s done lots of international travel.

“I did just get an application from her to join Sister Cities,” Neuheisel said.

“I don’t know that there will be much difference.”