Described by those who know him as a peacemaker, Jim Cownie says he’ll use his conciliatory style to promote an agenda of “gentle regionalism” when he becomes chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership later this month.

The passing of the chair’s gavel to Cownie, president of JSC Properties Inc., from Wells Fargo & Co. Senior Executive Vice President Mark Oman will be more figurative than ceremonial, as Cownie will be unable to attend the Partnership’s Jan. 16 annual dinner. He will speak to the gathering via videotape about his priorities, which include the Partnership’s major push this year to achieve passage of a 1 percent sales tax that would help local governments reduce property taxes and provide support for Central Iowa’s top cultural attractions.

The so-called Project Destiny penny sales tax is a good example of what Cownie calls gentle regionalism because its passage in a special referendum depends on the ability of leaders in three counties to sell the concept that by working together, they can strengthen the entire area.

“It’s an important symbolic step forward,” he said, and passage of the tax proposal would help define the Partnership as a change agent in advancing the concept of gentle regionalism.

Of the tax, which is forecast to generate $75 million in 2008, the first year it would be in effect, Cownie said: “It’s not perfect in that it entails a one-cent sales tax, [but] almost everyone prefers it to property tax, which has been called ‘the mortgage that can never be paid off.’

“Sales tax is paid transaction by transaction,” he continued. “It’s buying down a repugnant tax with a less repugnant sales tax.”

Cownie is optimistic that the tax will be approved in a July 10 special election and said it provides a more effective vehicle for local governments to work together than the 2005 proposal to merge the city of Des Moines and Polk County governments, which voters overwhelmingly defeated after a bitter campaign.

“We haven’t been able to sell the concept of charter government at any level,” he said of various schemes proposed since the early 1990s to change the form of governance in Greater Des Moines.

Gentle regionalism, on the other hand, allows governments and quasi-government entities to function autonomously, yet contribute to the larger whole. Cownie also said he will “listen carefully to affiliates” as they seek to redefine their role within the Partnership, as occurred last year with the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. That organization “very constructively expressed an interest in maintaining a back-office function,” he said, and negotiated an agreement that allowed it to function independently in hiring staff, defining programs and seeking new dues-paying members from a defined pool of businesses.

While promoting regional cooperation on one hand, Cownie makes no secret of his belief that strengthening Des Moines’ downtown core should be a major priority of the entire region. He was one of the original architects of the Capital City Vision Plan to reclaim the area surrounding Gray’s Lake, create the Gateway East and Gateway West projects, develop the riverfront and build major attractions that was developed about 15 years ago with New York City-based architect Mario Gandelsonas, and Cownie is eager to work with the noted urbanist to update the plan.

“The focus of this region needs to be downtown,” he said, “but I don’t think it can be at the expense of the missions of the affiliates.”

Cownie jokes that though he has a reputation for being a peacemaker, his management style is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. “I choose not to let things bubble up into permanent disagreement,” he said, explaining that more autocratic managers are sometimes more effective because they make decisions quickly without worrying about the need to assuage tension. “I can be too conciliatory, too middle of the road, neither a strong conservative nor a strong liberal.”

But a heavy-handed approach that imposes an unpopular solution such as the Polk County-Des Moines merger won’t restore trust between the two governments. Relationships between the Des Moines City Council and Polk County Board of Supervisors have improved dramatically since the merger proposal was defeated, and Cownie said the two governments are “getting along reasonably well.”

“We’re doing a less-than-great job relating to the General Assembly,” he said, outlining the need to find common ground with state legislators and build support for a 2007 legislative agenda focusing on regional growth. He also said both local government and the business community could do “a better job relating to important institutions like Prairie Meadows [Racetrack and Casino].”

“The business community needs to join hands with Prairie Meadows to help it advance its agenda with the county and city,” he said. “I’d like to see Prairie Meadows become an even stronger force in the community [and to do that], we need to figure out a way to advance to the next level its entertainment value by creating more infrastructure to support it.

Cownie also said he will scrutinize the organizational structure of the Partnership and various boards that involve more than 100 Greater Des Moines business leaders to ensure that the Partnership’s $7.5 million annual budget is being wisely allocated. With so many people involved, “it’s hard to get hard facts to compare with peer cities,” he said, “and we need to make sure it is efficient.”

Cownie gives the Partnership “high marks” as an effective economic development tool, but every organization can improve, he said. “We need to evaluate where we are for the purpose of determining where we want to be,” he said. “I want to make sure we are in the right areas with the right people and give our members input before we decide if we are going to change this direction or that.”