Mayor Greg Stanton announced former Deputy City Manager David Krietor as CEO for a new downtown improvement organization during his State of the City Address Thursday.
Downtown Phoenix, Inc., an umbrella organization focused on revitalizing downtown, will officially start in the next 30 days, DPI steering committee member Mo Stein said.
“The role for DPI is really to make the tent as big as possible and to incorporate all of the constituencies that are interested in downtown,” Krietor said.
DPI will provide overall coordination and direction for Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Phoenix Community Alliance and a new events organization, Krietor said.
Krietor said achieving agreement among all communities in downtown, including large and small businesses, the arts community and neighbors, and promoting downtown development will be the main challenges for DPI.
A major factor in Krietor’s appointment was his relationship with downtown communities, Stein said.
“The vast majority of people that have contributed to the success of downtown and will contribute to the success of downtown in the future are people that I know, (people) I have worked with in the past that I respect very much,” Krietor said. “So the learning curve, I’m hopeful, will be very short.”
Downtown Voices Coalition president Tim Eigo was involved with choosing the CEO, and said he also sees Krietor’s association with businesses and communities as beneficial.
“I think he’s comfortable in both rooms,” Eigo said. “I think he can talk to Downtown Voices very well and he does believe in our mission, but he’s also comfortable talking to PCA, the DPP people, long-term people like that. But that’s what the job is.”
Krietor’s experience in city government includes a position as Deputy City Manager, airport director and chief of staff for former Mayor Phil Gordon, Krietor said. He was also involved in the creation of CityScape.
However, Eigo said Krietor’s previous work experience might make some neighbors nervous.
“To be frank, and I think if you talk to Dave he would acknowledge this, anybody who comes from a position of having been high level in the city government is going to give people pause,” Eigo said.
But after talking with Krietor, Eigo said he believes he will do a good job.
“He’s been involved in a lot of developments that will have supporters and detractors, I’m sure,” Eigo said. “But I think that is inevitable once the choice of a local person was made. I mean, we’re not going to find anybody local who has the experience we need who didn’t please and displease people over the years.”
Downtown Voices Coalition Vice President and executive director of No Festival Required Independent Cinema Steve Weiss said he believes Krietor has a strong background in urban revitalization. However, he said he was not a fan of CityScape and hopes that is not the future of downtown development.
Besides Eigo, other community members involved in the selection of Krietor were Eye Lounge Co-Owner Cindy Dach, Modified Arts Owner Kimber Lanning and Arizona Latino Arts and Culture president Linda Torres.
Mayor Stanton, small and large businesses, arts and culture representatives and neighbors were all involved in the selection and will also be a part of DPI’s board.
Before selecting Krietor, the city hired DHR International to lead a national search for possible CEOs, Stein said.
“It is a little bit interesting that when the search ended, which was supposed to be a national search, that they came back with somebody who had worked in city government before,” Weiss said.
The search yielded two candidates who were seriously considered, Stein said. But Stein said many, including Mayor Stanton, did not want to wait for the candidates to become acquainted with downtown.
“We started listing the qualifications and the expectations that we had and we realized that we had a candidate in town that would be appropriate,” Stein said.
Stein said the city approached Krietor for the job, and his appointment received unanimous support by the steering committee.
The official creation, bylaws and location for Downtown Phoenix, Inc. will be established in the next 30 days, Stein said.
“We believe that we are an organization whether [or not] we are official,” Stein said. “We are emotionally and we are socially, for all intents and purposes, a real organization.”
Contact the reporter at ddworth1@asu.edu
