Municipal Leaders: Develop Faster, Lead Stronger, Build Better
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When Kevin Phelps arrived in Glendale, Arizona in 2016, he inherited a city the Wall Street Journal had described as in “worse financial straits than any city except Detroit.” Today, Glendale boasts nearly $300 million in reserves, hasn’t raised property taxes in eight years, and is home to a booming entertainment district featuring some of the Southwest’s most exciting developments.
How did this remarkable transformation happen?
Kevin’s journey didn’t begin in government—it started with opening the Northwest’s first video store chain in the 1970s (a venture that even attracted FBI attention during a Screen Actors Guild strike). After building and selling several successful businesses, including a convention center in Tacoma, Washington, Kevin eventually made the leap to public service.
“I think in the day, my job skill is pretty limited, but I’m really good at knowing how to jump in front of the bus,” Kevin shares in our conversation. “If my team makes a mistake trying to move this thing forward, I will be the one who will take the blame.”
This willingness to absorb risk—a business mindset rarely seen in government—became the foundation for Glendale’s revival.
One of the most fascinating insights from our conversation involves Kevin’s strategic approach to city differentiation. In a metropolitan area featuring powerhouse cities like Scottsdale (known for luxury retail) and Chandler (with its tech industry anchored by Intel), Glendale needed to find its own lane.
Instead of attempting to replicate their neighbors’ success, Kevin’s team strategically built upon Glendale’s existing assets—State Farm Stadium (home of the Arizona Cardinals), the Desert Diamond Arena, and existing entertainment infrastructure—to create a destination focused on experiences rather than traditional retail or office development.
The results have been staggering: Topgolf, White Claw’s first U.S. brewing facility, the upcoming $1.2 billion Vi Resort, and dozens of experience-based businesses have flocked to Glendale, creating a tax base that’s transformed the city’s financial outlook without burdening residents.
Perhaps most valuable for our city manager audience is Kevin’s approach to organizational culture. He describes himself not as a CEO but as a “Chief Culture Officer”—someone whose primary responsibility is shaping how the organization thinks and operates.
His team transformed from regulators to facilitators, breaking down departmental silos by rewarding directors based on how much they help other departments, not just their own success. Weekly email traffic is banned on weekends, and new employees are explicitly told that innovation and calculated risks are welcomed, not punished.
“I’ll never fire you for making a mistake,” Kevin tells every new hire, “but you will run into problems with me if you treat people poorly.”
As Kevin prepares to step down after an extraordinarily successful tenure, he’s applying the same strategic thinking to his departure. After studying how leadership transitions often fail when organizations are handed off during decline, Kevin announced his departure while Glendale is at its peak.
His thoughtful transition plan includes staying on while the city conducts a national search, then serving as a consultant to the new manager, ensuring continuity while allowing his successor to establish their own leadership.
Whether you’re a current city manager seeking transformation strategies, an aspiring municipal leader, or a private sector professional considering public service, this conversation offers invaluable insights about reimagining what’s possible in local government.
Listen to the full episode now on your favorite podcast platform or at HaltingWinter.com.
The HaltingWinter Podcast celebrates and elevates the people who power local government. Through in-depth conversations with leaders from cities of all sizes, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and innovations happening in municipal leadership across America.
