2021 Exemplary Advocate: Jenn Duff’s continuous search for best ways for Mesa to develop starts with neighbors and local businesses

Jenn Duff drives her passion for downtown Mesa residents, local businesses, and the arts on a road of advocacy and continuing education about creative placemaking, transportation and comprehensive community development. That road led to a seat on the Mesa City Council. 

Duff’s journey to elected office began in 2009 when the lifelong Mesa resident moved to downtown. Back then the area was, as she described it, a “ghost town.” But she felt at home. She saw the neighborhood for what it was — beautifully diverse, culturally rich. And she could see its future: The Mesa Arts Center had opened in 2005 and was a major boost to the area. A Valley Metro light-rail extension on Main Street would soon run through downtown.   

Duff welcomed neighbors to her home for monthly art and music gatherings. Residents who were businesspeople, students, entrepreneurs and artists would show up. 
Chit-chat, she said, soon turned to big conversations: 

“What does downtown look like? What do we care about? We need a community voice in how it’s shaping. We live here. We love it, but we want to be related to the area we live after we know there’s a massive amount of development. How do we become part of that?”

Neighbors formed a group called “I believe in Mesa’s Downtown” to stay on top of things and share what they knew. It reviewed council agendas and saw advisory boards as a place for information. It made contacts with all the people who were involved in the conversations about downtown – City Council members, city staff and developers of projects. Members started an education process, learning for example about transit-oriented development and why it’s important. 

That neighborhood group and its place-based, community engagement focus is the predecessor of an organization that would become RAIL CDC. It also eventually led Duff to Mesa City Council, where what she has learned about Strong Towns, Happy Cities, walkable cites and new urbanism guide her decision-making. What she has learned about policy and what she knows as small business owner no doubt is what made her strong proponent of allocating CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security) Act dollars for technical assistance for small businesses in west Mesa. 

The road that led to Mesa City Council is not a detour for Duff, and she’s not looking for an off ramp. She currently serves as vice mayor and is seeking re-election to a second term to strengthen comprehensive community development policies. There’s always room to grow on that front, always a need to accumulate knowledge, she said. To that point, Duff began in September a six-month program of the Smart Growth America Champions Institute as part of a cohort of 20 elected officials across the nation who will learn about active transportation. She hopes to end the program with a Mesa-specific complete streets project because the city needs to continue to transform for the benefit of all.

“We still have a huge amount of work to do, not only in the downtown area,” Duff said. “We’re just starting to get toward the peak of a lot of development. Keeping our community here and finding opportunities for them to rise with success is a big concern, a big focus of mine. 

“We have a lot of success in terms of people wanting to be part of the downtown development and have businesses here. But the surrounding neighborhoods who have been here, for generations sometimes, we don’t want to gentrify. We want them to continue to be part of the community because they are the richness of the community. It’s like losing your family if they go away.”