Is Mesa Safe?

I just finished reading a book by Seth Godin called "Poke the Box" and it caused me to think. A passage from the book is as follows:

"Halloween is not safe. Something bad might happen. In fact, sooner or later, it probably will.
Flying is not safe. You and I both know a dozen or a hundred or a thousand  ways an angry person can wreak havoc.
Selling is not safe. You might (in fact you will) be rejected.
Golf is not safe. My grandfather died playing golf.
Speaking up is not safe. People might be offended.
Innovation is not safe. You'll fail. Perhaps badly.
Now that we've got that out of the way, what are you going to do about it? Hide? Crouch in a corner and work as hard as you can to fit in?
That's not safe, either.
Might as well do something that matters instead."

After reading the book it I had nagging question, is the City of Mesa playing it safe? Are the residents of Mesa playing it safe? Is the DMA playing it safe?

Is the city of Mesa crouching and hiding in the corner trying to fit in with what other cities and communities around them? If so they really aren't safe they just think they are.

Is the DMA playing it safe by not causing waves? Are they trying to please everybody by not doing anything at all? If so they really aren't safe.

Playing it safe doesn't get you anywhere. It just makes you ordinary. Neither the City of Mesa or the downtown is ordinary so lets do something that matters.

So what matters to you as a resident?

Mesa's Downtown, What Is Missing

What Is Missing In Mesa's Downtown

A little over a year ago when I opened a new business in downtown Mesa, I made the choice to get involved, find out what was going and how I could help. I was invited to attend a merchants meeting and participate, which I did.

At that time a few of the merchants sat on the Downtown Mesa Association board (DMA). About that same time I also got a questioner from the DMA, shoved under the door of my office. The questioner asked how, I thought the association was doing with the downtown area. My first thought was for who? It certainly wasn't an organization for the merchants and it certainly wasn't an organization interested in bring new business to the downtown, but was more resolved and interested in keeping the status quote.

My interpretation, right or wrong, was that the DMA was created by the City of Mesa to put forth the ideas of city staff and property owners but not the merchants. The $1 million operations budget of the organization is funded by the city of Mesa with about $300,000 of it coming from a property tax paid by the merchants who rent in the downtown area and the one or two property owners who do business from their buildings

The Complaints DMA & City of Mesa

As I began to be involved with the merchants, some of following complaints about the DMA and the City of Mesa began to surface. (The DMA is a child of the City of Mesa)