Byline: By Ryan Konig, Staff writer
Paul Enniss and other community leaders were shocked when they went to the state Capitol
this year to speak their mind about neighborhood issues.
''The legislators listened to the lobbyists first, then they listened to officials,'' said Enniss, president of the Simpson Neighborhood Association near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road. ''It was as if their attitude was 'Hey, if we have any time left over, maybe we'll listen to the people.' ''
Well, start making time, Enniss said, because he and other neighborhood leaders are forming a coalition of communities throughout Arizona to lobby on behalf of neighborhoods.
The group is called NAILEM.
It stands for Neighborhood Activists Inter-linked Empowerment Movement.
NAILEM plans to keep track of legislative proceedings and encourage residents to attend hearings and fight for legislation that will help neighborhoods.
The group, for example, will support proposals to make it easier for neighborhoods and cities to crack down on slumlords and absentee landlords whose properties fall into disrepair.
NAILEM already has supporters.
''This is exactly the kind of organization that neighborhoods need,'' said Sen. Chris Cummiskey, D-central Phoenix.
''The legislative process moves so quickly with its 100-day sessions that it can be difficult for neighborhoods to keep up with the ins and outs of the process. This group can act as sort of a strike force and help neighborhoods educate themselves about issues and to educate lawmakers about neighborhood concerns.''
The group also is getting a hand from Richard Fox of the Phoenix Block Watch Advisory Board.
Fox is working with a US West official to set up a notification system where a caller can leave a message for hundreds of neighborhoods via a voice-mail program. The system, which could begin operating within the next few months, will help neighborhoods stay on top of legislative actions.
NAILEM hopes to be ready for the next legislative season, said co-founder Donna Neill of the Westwood Community Neighborhood Association, near 19th Avenue and Indian School Road.
''If we are going to affect the Legislature next year, we are going to have to start now,'' she said.
Rusty Childress, who owns the Childress Buick/Kia dealership in Westwood, announced the group's formation last week on the steps of the state Capitol building.
''If I have to hire a full-time community government liaison to act as a watchdog at the Legislature, I'll do it. My hope, though, is that we can get enough interested citizens to organize themselves so that they learn the process, the players and how to play the game to win,'' Childress said.
NAILEM is organizing a May 25 workshop to help neighborhood leaders learn how the Legislature works. Neill is preparing to mail 3,000 invitations to Block Watches and neighborhood associations.
''Somewhere along the way, government stopped being for the people and by the people,'' Neill said. ''It's time to reclaim our birthright. It's our fault that we lost it, and it's up to us to take it back.''