In Conversation with Phoenix City Council Candidates

Downtown Voices Coalition is hosting a series of one-on-one online conversations with the four remaining candidates for Phoenix City Council.

Downtown Voices Coalition, downtown Phoenix’s only grassroots stakeholder group that champions issues of urban excellence, like small and locally owned business, historic preservation, sustainability in a broader perspective, and good government, is hosting a series of one-on-one online conversations with the four remaining candidates for Phoenix City Council. The four candidates will be in conversation with our Edward Jensen, our group’s Secretary as well as an ardent observer in Phoenix politics and governance.

Leading off the conversations will be Laura Pastor, a program director at South Mountain Community College and the daughter of U.S. Congressman Ed Pastor, on Friday, October 4, from 7:00-8:00pm. Justin Johnson, running against Pastor for the District 4 seat, will be in conversation with Jensen on Monday, October 7, also from 7:00-8:00pm. Johnson is a real estate developer and the son of former Phoenix mayor Paul Johnson. Conversations with Kate Gallego and Warren Stewart are being scheduled for the week of October 7.

The conversations will be hosted on DVC’s Google+ page  as a Google+ Hangout On Air, an innovative platform to allow many observers from Phoenix to watch and participate in the conversation. Twitter users can send in their questions and comments using the hashtag #DVC4 and #DVC8 (depending on the district represented). Participants who do not have Google+ can watch on DVC’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/DVCPhoenix. The conversation will then be available on the DVC YouTube channel for watching after the live event has concluded.

“I am pleased to be hosting these one-on-one conversations,” said Jensen. “This is a unique, first-of-its-kind way to engage with the candidates and the questions that will be asked are not the conventional questions asked in debates and fora. It gives the candidates an opportunity to envision that they are in their respective City Council seat and working to accomplish their agenda.”

The questions are focused around the central theme of governance and how the candidates plan to accomplish their policy proposals while they are in office.  The four subthemes are “City Hall and the Next City Manager,” “Governance and Intergovernmental Relations,” “Downtown / Urban Phoenix and Urban Living Infrastructure,” and “Sustainability and the Environment in a Broader Context.” The one-on-one conversation format will allow Jensen to pursue different lines of questioning based on the answers given, allowing for tremendous flexibility. About 15-20 minutes at the end will be reserved for audience questions.

Downtown Voices Coalition is a coalition of stakeholder organizations that embrace growth in downtown Phoenix, but is mindful that healthy growth should be based upon existing downtown resources — the vibrancy of neighborhoods, the strength of the arts community, the uniqueness of historic properties, and the wonderful small businesses that dot downtown. For more information, visit downtownvoices.org.

Downtown Technology Company to rebrand, relaunch as techstudioworks

Continuing the tradition of excellence of Downtown Technology Company, it was announced today that the firm has begun its next chapter as techstudioworks, a full-service technology studio, consulting service, and education resource based in central Phoenix, Arizona.

tsw-interimLogoPHOENIX, ARIZONA (1 April 2013) — Continuing the tradition of excellence of Downtown Technology Company, it was announced today that the firm is going to begin its next chapter as techstudioworks, a full-service technology studio, consulting service, and education resource based in central Phoenix.  The new firm will maintain its commitment to all existing contracts and business.

The firm will continue the celebrated tradition of Edward Jensen’s unique hands-on approach to technology support, design, and education.  He returns fully to the private sector after working for Arizona School for the Arts, a performing arts charter school just outside downtown Phoenix, where he helped craft the school’s technology aspirations alongside helping the school’s 80 faculty and staff with daily technology needs.

“I have always taken pride in my hands-on approach with my clients: be they successful nonprofits, individuals in our community, or faculty at a school,” said Jensen.  “It has struck me as odd that there are people in many disciplines who do not recognize the value of a hands-on approach.  The new firm with the new name really emphasizes that we’re not a technology company; instead, we are a technology studio.  And I strongly believe that it’s a very important difference.”

Like Downtown Technology Company, techstudioworks will continue to provide a wide array of solutions for its clients across diverse disciplines.  Central to the firm’s mission is hands-on research-guided education on various technology themes, including owner Edward Jensen’s popular series of introductory and intermediate lectures on computer use geared toward K-12 students and senior citizens.  In addition to its strong education component, the firm will collaborate with its clients to provide, maintain, and strategically plan an online and digital presence, including social media.  All of the firm’s services are guided by a continuous emphasis on technology research, including emerging technology, new media, and technology policy.

about Edward Jensen: Edward Jensen is the owner and president at techstudioworks, a technology studio in central Phoenix.  He brings a celebrated hands-on approach to his work in advancing clients’ and organizations’ technology needs through education and research.  A lifelong Phoenix resident, he serves on the boards of several prominent local organizations.  For details, visit edwardjensen.net.

about techstudioworks: The result of years of study into technology education, techstudioworks is a new approach in providing technology services to clients across diverse disciplines.  Not your ordinary technology consultancy company, it is a technology studio where owner Edward Jensen collaborates with his clients to find the best technology solutions and provide comprehensive technology education, all guided by relevant research.  For details, visit techstudioworks.com.