PHOENIX, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- At the meeting today with statewide business, community and political leaders, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (retired) Sandra Day O'Connor and her Advisory Group to the O'Connor House continued to engage Arizona's leaders in "civil talk" to identify key governmental reform options to recommend for Arizona's Second Century. As the recommendations are developed, the options will represent the consensus of this statewide effort on how government should and could be structured in Arizona's Second Century.

Justice O'Connor and the O'Connor House Advisory Group organized the initial meeting of statewide leaders in May, 2009. At that meeting, over 70 participants, from across the political spectrum, considered dozens of proposals that could impact government in Arizona's Second Century. A computer voting system was used to ask whether Arizona "should" pursue various reforms and to identify and rank proposals as to their importance and the difficulty in effecting each change.

As the package of reforms continues to be developed, Justice O'Connor and the O'Connor House will continue to guide participants in reaching consensus on the reforms to be pursued. As the "civil talk" leads to "civic action," the next step will be to identify supporters who will move each issue forward. Throughout the process, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the resources of the O'Connor House will be available to facilitate the discussion, reach agreement and encourage action.

"The O'Connor House seeks to renew the awareness and knowledge about how to work together, in a civil manner, to resolve the big issues facing us," said Justice O'Connor. "We all have one thing in common - the desire to see Arizona's future be stronger and better."

The O'Connor House, in Tempe's Papago Park, is the original adobe home of Sandra and John O'Connor. The house was relocated to this site in 2009 and will open to the public in 2010. The mission of O'Connor House is to bring people with divergent views together to reach compromise and consensus through a process that reflects Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's lifelong commitment to move people beyond polarizing rhetoric to advance solutions for significant societal issues. The Advisory Group was formed at the request of Justice O'Connor to help identify significant societal issues for the state and the nation. Justice O'Connor is leading the first two O'Connor House action agenda issues which focus on Government for Arizona's Second Century and domestic violence.

For information about the O'Connor House, contact Strategies, Pam Hait or Martha Hunter, at 602-952-0040.

SOURCE O'Connor House