East Valley Partnership - Today
The East Valley Partnership is a coalition of civic, business, educational and political leaders from Ahwatukee, Apache Junction, Carefree, Cave Creek, Chandler, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Florence, Fountain Hills, Gila River Indian Community, Gilbert, Guadalupe, Mesa, Queen Creek, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Scottsdale, Sun Lakes and Tempe dedicated to the economic development and promotion of the East Valley. The Partnership actively advocates in areas such as economic development; education; transportation and infrastructure; arts, behavioral health; and other important areas.
History
In 1980, The Wall Street Journal noted the East Valley of metropolitan Phoenix as one of the most vibrant growth centers in the United States with extremely high residential and market potential. Positioned as a peripheral area of Phoenix, however, the East Valley stood in the shadow of the superior political clout of Phoenix with little united strength to win government funding or allocations for the seven individual cities comprising the East Valley. So in spring 1982, Mesa Tribune Publisher Charles Wahlheim, United Way Director Milt Lee, Empire Machinery's Jack Whiteman, Bashas' Inc.'s Eddie Basha, farmer Dwight Patterson, United Bank's John O'Neill, Evans Management's Bob Evans, and Tempe Daily News Publisher Paul Wolfe held the first meeting to create guidelines for an aligned power coalition that became the East Valley Partnership.
An executive committee was formed which appointed a selection committee to identify a list of influential leaders from the East Valley. The group was nonpartisan to represent the needs of the region. By early 1983, the East Valley Partnership had become a functioning body made up of legislators, city and county officials, business leaders and 'city fathers'. Primary concerns were identified as transportation, court system decentralization, water, industrial development, and human services.
While the East Valley Partnership was originally conceived as a small, restricted group of top leaders, today it has broadened to include leading individuals from all areas of business, education, government and civic enterprise united as a bold entity representing the interests of the East Valley. The East Valley Partnership, recognizing that more can be accomplished by working together, now regularly collaborates with Phoenix, West Valley and Pinal County leaders in a wide range of issues. It has long been the philosophy of those involved in the Partnership that greater good can be accomplished if, as a group, we check our egos at the door and not worry who gets the credit.
