Challenge: The new CEO of Valley Metro Rail learned that construction was going to take two years longer and cost approximately $2 million more than estimated. In addition, a new Mayor of Phoenix had been elected, was now Chairman of the rail board of directors and was not as passionate about rail as his predecessor. This kind of announcement could fuel the fires of rail detractors and protesters and cause all kinds of grief to newly-elected officials.

Strategy: Strategically, our goal was to stay in front of and/or contain the news, and deliver messages to minimize its negative impact. We also believed that the public would be forgiving of a new CEO who was now reviewing everything. He had one chance to make a correction proactively. We needed to make sure that everyone addressing this issue conveyed the same thoughts:

• The community interest and involvement in planning rail has been unprecedented and this has caused changes to our plans that in turn have added time and money.
• We’re building the best possible system because we’re listening and responding to the community.
• Valley Metro Rail has always made every effort to be as transparent as possible while building this important project.

Tactics:

• We crafted messages that resonated the truth and could contain the issue.
• We worked with City of Phoenix Communications staff, including Tony Maccarone, to make sure that everyone concurred on messages.
• We worked with Mayor Gordon and his staff to make sure he was comfortable with messages.
• We coordinated with the City Managers office in charge of rail to ensure that messages reflected their position.
• We helped Valley Metro Rail CEO incorporate the messages into a report to the board that included information about cost and schedule adjustments.

Results: The announcement received very little attention from the media. Media seemed to praise a new CEO who had the courage to announce the adjustments. Meanwhile, the Mayor became more comfortable with the rail issue and stood his ground well during ensuing coverage. Bottom line, the issue remained a story and did not grow into a crisis.