Henninger: Debate on Scottsdale’s future is healthy for local democracy

As we celebrate the holiday season and get ready to turn the corner into a new year, I am reminded about the possibilities we enjoy as residents, business owners and visitors to Scottsdale.

Today’s political and government discourse is more about things people want to prevent from happening in our city than it is on what they want to create to keep Scottsdale healthy, progressive and relevant.

That’s a shame because you don’t get anywhere that way. Innovative ideas come from people who see the future for what they can create, not for what they can prevent.

Scottsdale is losing its edge as a city that once was known for its ability to get big things done – such as the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, the Indian Bend Wash and the Waterfront activity. Instead, it’s becoming mired in ways to preserve its past. Nothing in life stays the same – it either ages and deteriorates or adapts and invigorates. Stagnation is not a strategy.

Where are the ideas – and they don’t even have to be big ones – that are going to continue to make Scottsdale the classiest, most desired destination in Arizona for all of us – residents, business owners and visitors alike?

Those thoughts occurred to me during a conversation with Peggy Fiandaca.

She owns LDV Winery, one of the vintners who is putting Arizona on the wine-making map. When she started LDV 12 years ago, there were 17 wineries in Arizona; there now are 125. While she grows her grapes in southern Arizona, her tasting room is in downtown Scottsdale. And she has an idea that would put another marker on the downtown map.

There are several wine tasting rooms downtown now. Peggy’s vision is to build on that, recruit more winemakers to open tasting rooms there and create a vibe that would add another element to the city’s activity lineup and draw more people – visitors, residents, and business owners alike.

This is not a huge earth-shattering idea and is within Peggy’s business interests. And that’s all good. Adding a wine vibe to the arts, cultural, food, and entertainment options downtown would be a terrific, marketable opportunity for the city.

How many other ideas like that are out there, where people are looking for the possibilities of what Scottsdale can be as it evolves?

Peggy, by the way, is in her second career in the wine business. Her first career was in urban planning where among other things she worked for four Arizona governors. She knows what makes cities successful and what it takes to achieve them.

The fact that she has set up shop in downtown Scottsdale should say a thing or two about her belief in the future possibilities of that important segment of our city.

A healthy city is one that encourages people to open up the flow of possibilities, of innovative thinking – big and small – and then encourages our leaders to ensure that creative ideas don’t get squashed before they even get heard.

We need more people like Peggy who want to create possibilities for our city and we need more people willing to listen to what they have to say.
If I had a wish for the new year, that would be it.

Editor's Note: Don Henninger, executive director of SCOTT, can be reached at donh@scottsdale.com. Mr. Henninger is a member of Independent Newsmedia board of directors.