Putting a Value on Civic Pride

The people of Westminster aren’t finished gloating. In fact, they have just started to appreciate--and market--their 5-month-old designation as an All America City.

Since the nationally coveted award was given this summer, Westminster officials have celebrated by plastering the words “All America City” on everything from coffee mugs to billboards. City stationery was immediately reprinted to reflect the honor, which some say could translate into a lucrative status change for an otherwise status-quo town.

“Besides bringing a lot of pride to the city, this award will help bring businesses in and raise property values,” said outgoing Mayor Charles V. Smith, who was first to encourage the city’s application. “It’s an image. And it does mean money.”

While Westminster revels in glory, however, officials in three other Orange County cities say they have yet to see such economic payoffs from All America titles earned more than a decade (or two) ago. Besides creating an instant sense of community spirit, the title did little to insulate Placentia, La Habra and Santa Ana from the all-American problems of unemployment, falling property values and, in one case, a $1.5-million budget deficit.

The Denver-based National Civic League, which sponsors the award, advertises “new jobs, local investment and enhanced tax bases” as “concrete gains” realized by most winning cities.

“You would see those benefits if you won,” said league spokeswoman Dianna Marvell. “It’s like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It winds up being reflected in the economy, property values and job rates.”

Ten cities have won the award each year since 1949. Winners generally are diverse communities with residents who work with city officials to solve problems, from illiteracy and gang-related crime to code enforcement and beautification projects. Westminster is the fourth Orange County city to win the award. In addition, Anaheim, Buena Park and Huntington Beach have all been finalists.

Placentia Councilman Norman Z. Eckenrode, who clearly remembers the city’s All America win in 1971, said residents “didn’t stop talking about it for months, from PTA meetings to the Rotary Club.” The town, which then had a population of about 18,000, has since grown to more than 45,000.

“It got us some notoriety, made us feel proud, but I can’t say it brought anything more to us business-wise,” Eckenrode said. “Not anything you could really measure, anyway.”

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Said former Santa Ana Mayor Dan Young, who was elected to the council a year after the city’s 1982 All America designation: “I don’t think it ever closed a lease or brought a 10% increase in property [values].”

Young said that although Santa Ana advertised the award in economic packages that went to businesses and even changed the city’s logo to “All America City,” the most concrete benefit of the win was that it gave residents “something to rally around.”

“It gave us bragging rights for a while,” Young said. “It established relationships and put us out there in the world of city governments as a quality community.”

Santa Ana City Manager David N. Ream, who was involved in the city’s award application, said he doubts the title carries much weight for the community anymore. Three years after receiving it, Santa Ana was ranked among the worst in the country for urban stress, which includes crime, pollution, economics, crowding and other ills of growth. City officials promptly changed the town logo to its current “Education 1st.” The words “All America City” painted on the city’s highly visible water tower also were removed.

“It’s been too long now for the community to still put a lot of faith into what that [title] means,” Ream said.

In 1992, La Habra was recognized as an All America City for community spirit, volunteer programs and services offered at the Gary Center. Since then, however, Mayor Steven C. Anderson said, the city has seen the flight of major manufacturing companies and a steady loss in revenue, which translated three years ago into a $1.5-million budget shortfall.

“It’s going to take a joint venture” of residents and the city “to get back the status we gained in the early ‘70s,” Anderson said.

But league officials say an All America City title never expires, and there is no “follow-up check” on past winners to see if the communities are still meeting the judges’ standards. The committee does recommend, though, that cities reapply within 10 years. If they win again, Marvell said, the benefits are far more valuable than a single, 20-year-old victory. Both Roanoke, Va., and Cleveland have won the All America City award five times, she said.

“The more you win, the more mileage you get out of it,” Marvell said. “Each city’s different. And really, it’s all about marketing.”

In Anaheim and Buena Park, which were finalists for the award in the ‘80s, some officials question whether the time spent applying is worth the gain, real or perceived. Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly said he would rather see efforts spent on improving services and other projects.

“I’m an active mayor, and I steal good ideas from other cities when I see them,” Daly said. “But I couldn’t list five All America cities for you right now.”

In Buena Park, another former finalist, outgoing Councilman Don Griffin agreed.

“Any city that thinks it’s got it made better think again,” he said, noting how fast changes, especially negative ones, can occur in any community. “You can get run over pretty quick.”