Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke said enjoys seeing city residents collaborate.
“I tell people all the time that if Chandler has a superpower, it’s collaboration,” Hartke said at a June 23 recognition of the city’s most recent CIVIC graduating class. “We choose to work together — and therefore, we get more done.”
CIVIC is a 13-session, interactive program for Chandler residents, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at how city services are provided and how the government and its department operate.
Being informed and engaged is a goal of the program, Hartke said. The mayor said the knowledge gained by residents often trickles down to inform others about the challenges and strategies of the city, along with getting out the right information about the city and dispelling myths.
Hartke thanked Alexis Apodaca, the public affairs manager for mayor and council, who runs the program and announced the certificates for the most recent class.
Apodaca thanked staff from more than 20 city departments who embrace the program and help teach the public about their craft.
We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.
INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA
Jason W. Brooks
Associate Editor
Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.
He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.
Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.
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