| ANAHEIM, CA - (June 20, 2008) - Stephen Goldsmith, the director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, was the keynote speaker at the 3rd Annual Orange County Mayors’ Summit. Organized by Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Piludo and the Orange County Business Council, the annual meeting of mayors focused on innovation and ways to improve customer service. Approximately 175 people attended the event at Anaheim GardenWalk, Orange County’s newest outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment center. Attendees included elected officials, city managers and senior city administrators representing about 27 of Orange County's 34 cities. Goldsmith, the former mayor of Indianapolis, is known for his dynamic efforts to reduce the size and scope of government while transforming his city’s downtown. In his speech, Goldsmith discussed different examples of city-level innovation around the nation, saying: “Across the country, and in California, local officials are facing tough budget choices where citizen needs surpass available resources by ever greater amounts. Yet across the country we see encouraging signs from bold public officials, willing to challenge the status quo, utilize competitive forces, and leverage public and private partners to bring about innovative solutions. Taxpayers simply cannot afford business as usual which creates both pressure and opportunity.” The conference also featured a panel of experts discussing ways to improve city governments’ customer service. Moderated by Rick Reiff, the executive editor of the Orange County Business Journal, the panel featured Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Jim Gaz, J.D. Power and Associates’ Senior Director for Travel and Tourism, and Jeff Wolff, Doubletree/Hilton’s Regional Director for Brand Performance. Improving customer service in the City of Anaheim has been a top priority since Mayor Pringle proposed that the city conduct a customer service study to measure and improve the level of satisfaction of Anaheim residents and businesses, during his January State of the City address,. The Mayor suggested the city partner with J.D. Power and Associates, one of the nation’s leading firms specializing in measuring and analyzing customer opinions. In April, the Anaheim City Council voted to commission J.D. Power and Associates to the study, which will measure resident’s level of satisfaction with City services, focusing primarily on planning, police and utility services. Stephen Goldsmith Stephen Goldsmith is the Daniel Paul Professor of Government and the Director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Goldsmith is also the Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service. He previously served two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, America's 12th largest city. As mayor, he reduced government spending, cut the city's bureaucracy, held the line on taxes, eliminated counterproductive regulations, and identified more than $400 million in savings. He reinvested the savings by leading a transformation of downtown Indianapolis that has been held up as a national model. Goldsmith was the chief domestic policy advisor to the George W. Bush campaign in 2000 and was district attorney for Marion County, Indiana from 1979 to 1990. For more information on Goldsmith, visit http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/stephen-goldsmith. Media Contact: Ruth Ruiz 714.765.5060 more city news
### ABOUT ANAHEIM - The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 3,200 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.4 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medal winning U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net. |