AZ Cities @ Work is recognizing exemplary local elected officials, municipal staff, and municipal volunteers. Town of Marana employee Asia Philbin is being recognized for her commitment to public service and the Town of Marana. As a Water Resources Coordinator, she deals with water resources, water and wastewater system assets, and energy management, making sure that residents receive clean water daily.
A New Face for Marana’s Municipal Court
Laine Sklar might be a bit of an overachiever.
In 2000, she graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School, finished her undergraduate degree three years later, and, by 2006, was Marana’s Assistant Town Attorney. Not one to stand still, however, she quickly rose through the ranks to become the Senior Assistant Town Attorney, supervising the Prosecutor’s Office.
It’s at this point that many would pause for breath. Not Laine.
Last week, less than ten years since beginning her law career, the Town Council appointed her as the new Magistrate. As a judge, she will now oversee Marana’s municipal court and issue rulings on misdemeanors, traffic violations, and other breaches of Town ordinances.
“I am eager to serve the Town in this new capacity,” announced soon-to-be-Judge Sklar to the Council shortly after they unanimously approved her appointment. Her measured tones already underscored a nascent judicial demeanor.
Laine first came to southern Arizona when she was in fourth grade. Prior to settling down, her father’s career in radio had moved the family across the country. When they came to Arizona, though, they knew they’d found a home. Ever since, Laine has found it difficult to resist the draw of the Sonoran Desert, so it was no surprise when she went on to the University of Arizona, earning her bachelor’s degree in Communications. She left Arizona for one year to study law at the University of Connecticut, but after realizing how much she missed home, she returned to finish her degree at U of A’s Rogers School of Law.
In many ways, Laine does not conform to the typical stereotypes of a judge. As Marana’s first female Town Magistrate, she hopes to expand understanding of the judicial system so that those who come into contact with it will be less intimidated by its grandiosity. One way she intends to accomplish that goal is by participating in community service efforts to increase residents’ familiarity with the legal system.
“People who interact with judicial officers outside of the courtroom are far more likely to be satisfied with their interactions within the justice system,” she explains, citing a recent Supreme Court study.
By fostering these kinds of relationships, she hopes not only to build a sense of awareness of Marana’s court, but also to enable disadvantaged litigants to better navigate its many pathways, especially since many of them appear before the court without legal counsel.
Though Laine’s commitment to public service manifests itself today in her legal career, it is not where it began. Her mother spent much of her career working in nonprofits, and passed that same dedication to social justice on to Laine.
As a child, Laine dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but when she realized her interests lay less in science, and more in reading and writing, a guidance counselor suggested she consider a career in law. There, she has found a natural home, both professionally and personally. As Senior Assistant Town Attorney, she handled animal welfare issues. Outside of work, she spends much of her time riding her horse, PJ, and together, they compete in local, state, and even national dressage events. Even though they’re not on her work résumé, Laine and PJ can lay claim to a number of awards and trophies.
On October 1, the future Judge Sklar will officially assume her responsibilities as Town Magistrate. There, she looks forward to using her position as an instrument for spreading transparency and access to the courts.
Those interested in keeping up with her efforts should keep an eye on the Court’s homepage at www.MaranaAz.gov/municipal-court and look out for articles about the Court’s activities in the Marana Newsroom.
Notes from an Internship: Part VII
Notes from an Internship: Part VI
At one point in life, I could speak proficient German. Since college, unfortunately, that skill has diminished significantly, but one word still sticks in my memory: fingerspitzengefühl. The Germans use it to describe that feeling you get at the tips of your fingers when you anticipate that something major is about to happen. Well, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Conference is a week away, and my fingerspitzen are gefühling.
Every year, the Town’s management intern (that’s me!) is given the honor of designing the Town’s booth for the showcase of cities and towns. This is what makes or breaks careers. OK, that might be hyperbolic, but you get the picture. The goal is to create an entertaining and memorable experience for conference attendees, who, by the way, are elected officials from across the state, including mayors, state legislators and the governor. No pressure!
After weeks of planning, dozens of phone calls, and hours of pouring pasta into cellophane (long story), I think we’re ready to go. Our theme this year is “Growing Marana,” and we’ll be highlighting many of the successful agricultural and industrial enterprises in our community. We have White Sonoran Wheat from BKW Farms, cans of Coke with “Marana” on the side, and even beer made from wheat grown in Marana.
But with such great prizes, won’t everyone realize that our swag is the highlight of the event and rush to scoop it all up? Good question. Did I mention that I used to be a teacher? I’m a pro at writing multiple-choice tests, so I thought it would be fun to create a quiz of Marana history, culture, and current events. And thus was born The Marana Trivia Challenge.
The task of creating this booth has fallen on my shoulders, but when I look back on this experience after it’s over, my first thought won’t be of a fun iPad app or a bag of pasta. Rather, what will stick with me is the tremendous support I’ve received from across our organization. When I broached the idea of making an iPad-based quiz game with tech services, they were happy to help. When I needed to make 200 bags out of cellophane and ribbon and fill them with pasta, my coworkers in the manager’s office were happy to fill in the assembly line. And when I cold-called BKW Farms and asked for 1,000 bags of White Sonoran Wheat, they didn’t hesitate to make that donation.
Teamwork is one of our core values, and with this project, every giveaway we’ll have at the booth represents that principle. I’m deeply grateful for the support I’ve received from across our community. I’ve still got that fingerspitzengefühl for next week, but it’s nice to know that I’m not in it alone.
Chris Saunders is a Marvin Andrews Scholar who is interning with the Town this summer. He is writing weekly entries for Marana 365 through the end of August.
Notes from an Internship: Part V
It’s everyone’s favorite quadrennial pastime: election season! Seriously, we’re more than a year away from the 2016 Presidential Election, but practically every major news outlet is following these candidates as if it were tomorrow. This year, as in many others, I’ve been hearing a recurring theme: every candidate is an outsider. I remain skeptical as to whether most of these candidates have actually managed to maintain that perspective, but nevertheless, there is substance behind why they’re saying it.
Leaders in government should understand the challenges faced by their constituents, and that’s no less true for presidents as it is for Town of Marana staff. This week, I’ve spent some time learning more about those perspectives and discovering how to solicit them more frequently.
Two weeks ago, I mentioned that I’m working to create a mentorship program for Marana business owners to share their expertise with other local entrepreneurs. This week, I’ve had several meetings with many of them to ask: How should we set up this program? Rather than designing a program and asking people to sign up, we want to make sure that whatever we implement is user-friendly and meets a clear need.
When I started sketching how this would look, I imagined the Town acting as middle man between the mentors and protégés, but the people I spoke with pointed out that our office might become a bottleneck, preventing a seamless connection between the two sides. Perhaps, they suggested, it makes more sense to allow information to flow directly from requester to mentor, with the Town acting as an overseer to ensure smooth operation and troubleshoot issues as they arise. We’re not yet ready to roll out this initiative, but hearing the feedback of potential users will surely better inform the final result.
Seeking citizen feedback on one specific program is great, but it is a far cry from acquiring a broad understanding of community needs. In the past, Marana has mailed out lengthy (and costly) citizen surveys to take the pulse of the Town. It’s great to have that information, but inevitably, such a large project can only happen occasionally, meaning the Town is not receiving the timely feedback it needs.
An on-going web survey, on the other hand, has the potential to provide a constant barometer of public opinion. What could be the downside of that? Well, not everyone fills out web surveys. If we rely on those responses alone, we’ll leave many groups in our community voiceless. Clearly there must be a balance between frequent responses and more in-depth, Town-wide feedback. In many ways, it’s a trade-off between quantity and quality, and I hope by engaging in this process we can derive valuable information from both ends of the spectrum.
In my first public policy class in college, almost 10 years ago, we read a case study about a government initiative in London. The city faced a problem with traffic, and wanted to resolve it by creating variable rate tolls that would change based on the severity of congestion. During the proposal and early implementation stages, the public hated the idea. After all, no one wants to pay extra money just to drive to work. A year later, though, public sentiment had entirely shifted. As drivers encountered fewer traffic jams and experienced much shorter commutes, they began to appreciate the now obvious benefits of the program. The lesson? Sometimes, public opinion doesn’t know best. Government employees have, after all, studied government extensively, and usually know how it works. Public opinion is simultaneously both critically important and potentially deceiving, and I’m glad for the chance now to feel my way through this process.
Chris Saunders is a Marvin Andrews Scholar who is interning with the Town this summer. He is writing weekly entries for Marana 365 through the end of August.
