October 1, 2013
The Demise of the Public Hearing
Technology is changing the way citizens interact with local government.
April 30, 2013
How Generation X is Shaping Government
Overshadowed by baby boomers on one side and millennials on the other, it’s Generation X that’s actually shaping the way government and citizens interact.
August 31, 2012
Baby Boomers’ Impact on Elections
They hold tremendous influence -- more than half the voting-age population is now over 45 -- but baby boomers and their role at the polls are a bit hard to pin down.
June 1, 2010
Divorce, Arkansas-Style
Governor Mike Beebe has split up his state's huge health and social
services agency after a painful two-year experiment with
consolidation.
June 1, 2010
Eminent Reluctance
When Virginia reacted to the Supreme Court's eminent-domain decision,
no one had a trickier balancing act than Governor Tim Kaine.
June 1, 2010
A Rift Runs Through It
Nine years ago, voters in Dallas opted to remake the riparian no-
man's-land in the center of the city. Now its leaders are fighting
over what they meant.
June 1, 2010
Turnpike Tempest
Governor Ed Rendell wants to lease out the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Things could get ugly along the way.
June 1, 2010
Blunt Instrument
Nobody questions Ed Blakely's credentials as an urban thinker. New
Orleans just wants him to think before he talks.
December 31, 2009
Bleak Outlook for State Finances
The coming year will be excruciating for state budget-makers not just because revenues continue to decline and new rounds of budget cutting are necessary, but...
November 30, 2009
How Much Reform Can Providence Handle?
The Wu Tang Scram of tofu, bok choy, Napa cabbage and cashews served at Julian's, a restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, might not seem like...
August 31, 2009
How Bureaucracy and Bickering Brought Down Niagara Falls
Down an overgrown path along the bluffs above the Niagara River gorge, a couple of miles downstream from the breathtaking cataract that gives Niagara Falls,...
August 28, 2009
The Two Sides to Niagara Falls
Read more about Niagara Falls in "Decline and Falls" in the September 2009 issue of GOVERNING.
July 6, 2009
The Sisterhood of Auditors
When she took over as Los Angeles controller in 2001, the most trenchant piece of counsel that Laura Chick received from her predecessor, Rick Tuttle, was...
June 30, 2009
Laura Chick Is Watching
It took Laura Chick barely a month in Sacramento to start making waves. As California's new inspector general charged with overseeing how the state spends...
April 30, 2009
Bordeaux vs. Budweiser
There are people in Johnsburg, New York, who still won't set foot in the Tannery Pond Community Center, even though it was built in part...
December 31, 2008
Death and Life in the Pressroom
If you want to know what the dying days of a journalistic era look like, mount the marble steps to the fourth floor of Connecticut's...
December 31, 2008
Joining Forces
One of the more interesting experiments in maintaining newspapers' traditional capacity to cover state government was announced in November by the St. Petersburg Times and...
December 31, 2008
Postcards from the Edge
Then and Now
As the largest newspaper in Connecticut and the paper of record for the state's capital city, the Hartford Courant has long held...
November 30, 2008
Welcome Mat
On a sunny fall afternoon, Rafael Ramos pulls up in front of a modest house in a working-class neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. He hops...
September 30, 2008
Breakdown
When a public system issues a cry for help, it often does so in horrific ways. Sure, there are stacks of polite studies and the...
September 5, 2008
A Taste of the Country
It is more than likely that you've never heard of Calvin Beale, a rural demographer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture who died of colon cancer on Monday, at the age of 85. He was a quiet, courtly bureaucrat in a city where those qualities tend to go unremarked.
June 30, 2008
Atlanta and the Urban Future
There is going to be a hard-fought campaign for mayor of Atlanta next year, and to understand it better, you might pay a visit to...
April 30, 2008
Eds, Meds and Urban Revival
Look out from an upper-floor window of the old Sears building on the edge of downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and you can begin to appreciate the...
November 1, 2007
Deals and Ideals
Forest City Enterprises makes communities pay big money for many
projects it builds. But it builds some good ones.
November 1, 2007
Moving Outside
John Kitzhaber has been to the top in politics. He thinks he may be
able to achieve more working from the bottom up.
September 1, 2007
Brinkshman
As Chicago's transit chief, Ron Huberman is playing some dangerous
games. He may not have much choice
July 31, 2007
Bratton's Brigade
One May night, two police officers bicycle-patrolling their beat in a violence-prone neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, spotted a car parked near a recreation center....
July 1, 2007
Can Dallas Govern Itself?
Over the past decade, political chaos and bureaucratic mismanagement
turned Big D into a Big Mess. It's struggling to recover.
July 1, 2007
Power Reclaimed
California's term-limit law was turning Assembly speakers into
ciphers--until Fabian Nunez came along.
April 1, 2007
Cookie-Jar Clampdown
Tougher lobby laws are being discussed all over the country. A few
states have enacted them. Whether they will work remains to be seen.
April 1, 2007
Drug Doubter
Vermont prosecutor Robert Sand says what he thinks about marijuana.
He's making people uncomfortable.
February 1, 2007
Rescue Mission
Florida's chaotic social service agency may be ungovernable. But Bob
Butterworth is giving it a shot.
January 31, 2007
Mayor in the Middle
During the first week of December 2006, about a dozen Los Angeles hotel workers set up a week-long fast outside the Westin LAX hotel, not far...
December 1, 2006
Blackout
Big-city newspapers aren't telling citizens the things they need to
know.
December 1, 2006
Restoration Governor
It's been 16 years since a Democrat ruled Massachusetts. That won't
make Deval Patrick's job any easier.
November 1, 2006
Urban Outfitter
Helping cities thrive, not just survive.
October 1, 2006
Turnabout Tale
After losing a GOP primary bid for lieutenant governor, Nebraska state
auditor Kate Witek is seeking reelection--as a Democrat.
Extended Contract
The hot conservative issues of the 1990s are migrating to state
ballots.
September 1, 2006
Charter Changeover
After Katrina wiped out one of the worst school systems in the
country, New Orleans has seized the chance to redesign its whole
approach to public education.
June 1, 2006
Restless in Des Moines
Sensing trouble in the fall, Iowa's Senate Republicans have turned to
Mary Lundby to bail them out.
May 1, 2006
Battered School Boards
Reformers dismiss them. Experts call them obsolete. But we can't give
up on school boards, because they're needed.
April 1, 2006
Ageless Young Turk
S. David Freeman has been shaking up public agencies for half a
century. He doesn't see any reason to stop.
February 1, 2006
Mellowed MilitantMellowed Militant
Ron Dellums, the angry Berkeley radical of the 1960s, is making a
comeback. But he doesn't sound so angry anymore.
September 1, 2005
Blunt Instrument
Lillian Koller likes to cut through red tape--even if that means
bending a few rules of courtesy.
August 1, 2005
How Dense Can You Get?
Staten Island is the epicenter of the national debate over balancing
the need for affordable housing with the desire to control
development.
August 1, 2005
Motor Trouble
Joel Silverman was asked to reform his state's vehicle license
management. Not everyone wanted it reformed.
June 1, 2005
Local Avenger
Todd Smith has declared war against the red tape his state imposes on
county government.
June 1, 2005
Wilder's Last Crusade
Virginia's ex-governor has made a career out of accomplishing the
unexpected. He is betting he can do it one more time as mayor of a
proud but messed-up city.
May 1, 2005
Tabor Repairman
What's more surprising than Andrew Romanoff becoming Colorado's House speaker? His revenue-reform success.
April 1, 2005
Pride of Place
Fred Kent has spent three decades developing a common-sense approach
to streets, buildings and human sociability.
February 1, 2005
Easy Enforcer
Terry Tamminen brings a Southern California mellowness to the un-
mellow job of reorganizing state government.
January 1, 2005
Burned By Success
An ingenious development director worked miracles in a small Georgia
town. That didn't make the whole town happy.
December 1, 2004
Heir to Power
The speakership of the Massachusetts House has long been a virtual license for one-man rule. Under Sal DiMasi, it may evolve into something a little less autocratic.
December 1, 2004
A Revolting Development
Even as state revenues rebound, a property tax rebellion is brewing.
October 1, 2004
The Last One-Term Statehouse
If Virginia governors could serve two terms, they'd get a lot more
done. But would the state be better off?
October 1, 2004
Speaking Up
For years, Philadelphia Councilman Brian O'Neill sat quietly and
minded his own business. Then he was handed some power.
August 1, 2004
Making New Friends
Ray Allen didn't set out to become an ally of liberal activists. He
just happened to agree with them on a few things.
June 1, 2004
Sharp Tongue
Florida legislator Susan Bucher is a woman of strong opinions. She's
willing to express them anywhere, anytime.
April 1, 2004
How to Win Friends and Repair a City
Atlanta needs all the help it can get. Luckily, it has a mayor who
knows where to get it.
April 1, 2004
Mission Improbable
Would you hire a county prosecutor to run a hospital network? If you
knew Mike Duggan, you might.
March 1, 2004
Edge-Ucation
What compels communities to build schools in the middle of nowhere?
February 1, 2004
Fast Track
Marco Lopez does things any ambitious young politician might do--he
just does them younger and better.
December 1, 2003
Sleeper Speaker
The November elections were very good to New York City's Gifford
Miller, who has come a long way in a short time.
October 1, 2003
The Lone Comptroller
Fellow Republicans in Texas don't think Carole Keeton Strayhorn is
much of a team player. That doesn't bother her a lot.
October 1, 2003
Connecting The Suburban Dots
Hub-and-spoke transit systems reflect old commuting patterns. A few
metro areas are planning suburb-to-suburb rail lines.
August 1, 2003
The Big Easy's Makeover Mayor
Ray Nagin is taking a businesslike approach to changing New Orleans'
image. But much also depends on how well he masters the art of
politics.
August 1, 2003
Gridlock Guru
Want to drive in Manhattan at rush hour? You'll have to pay for it if
Sam Schwartz gets his way.
June 1, 2003
Into The Haze
It's risky for a legislator from rural California to pick a fight with
agriculture. Dean Florez felt he had no choice.
April 1, 2003
Are City Councils A Relic of The Past?
One of America's oldest political institutions isn't adapting very
well to 21st-century urban life.
April 1, 2003
Man of Precision
Estimating revenue is a task that trips up many state finance
officials. West Virginia's Mark Muchow gets the numbers right every
time.
February 28, 2003
The Ordeal of David Paterson
It seemed, at the time, like an auspicious moment. On a slushy winter's day at the New York State Capitol, David Paterson entered the Assembly...
February 28, 2003
Playing for Maps
As the legislature tangles with Governor Paterson's budget, it will be keeping a close eye on a crucial event 20 months away. This is the 2010 election,...
February 1, 2003
Call of The Wild
Alaska's Frank Murkowski left the U.S. Senate to take over a state
that's going broke. Why would he do that?
January 1, 2003
New Day Under The Dome
Republicans control more legislatures this year than they have in
decades. They didn't pick the easiest time to take over.
December 1, 2002
David Bronner: High-Roller
When the news broke this fall that Alabama's public employee pension fund intended to take a controlling interest in US Airways, financial trend-watchers seemed puzzled.
October 1, 2002
Southern Discomfort
When they come to power in the South, Republicans often find a new
enemy: each other.
October 1, 2002
Ray Nagin: Creole Crackdown
Ever since the July day when Mayor Ray Nagin announced that 84 arrest warrants had been issued in a massive campaign against public corruption, New Orleans has been a changed city.
August 1, 2002
Larry Salci: Transforming Transit
Sometimes in public life, the best politician for the job may not be a politician. That, at least, is the gamble that St. Louis-area public transit is taking with Larry Salci.
July 1, 2002
Betting on the Bulldozer
If Philadelphia can just clear away the rubble of its abandoned
buildings, whole new neighborhoods might spring up. But it will cost a
fortune, and there's no guarantee it will work.
June 1, 2002
Mee Moua: Breaking In
No one could accuse Mee Moua of lacking political courage. This spring, just weeks after the Democrat won a special election to the Minnesota Senate, she jumped feet-first into an emotional debate over whether the state ought to mandate reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools.
April 1, 2002
Mysteries of Urban Momentum
Thirty years ago, Minneapolis and St. Paul were hot. Now they're not.
Local leaders are trying to figure out why.
April 1, 2002
George Zoffinger: Shaking the Stadium
George Zoffinger has never had much trouble telling people what he thinks. "Sometimes," says a friend and colleague, "we cringe."
February 1, 2002
John McKay: The Tax Man Cometh
An election year is a notoriously awkward time to push contentious legislation. Why irritate powerful special interests--let alone some portion of the electorate--when your colleagues want everything to be as calm as possible?
December 1, 2001
The Massachusetts Mess
Politics has always been rough in the Bay State. These days, though,
meanness sometimes seems like an end in itself.
December 1, 2001
Shirley Franklin: Old Hand, Fresh Appeal
For someone who grew up in Philadelphia, Shirley Franklin has the
perfect Atlanta pedigree. That may explain why she managed a few weeks
ago to win the city's mayoralty without a runoff, and will take office
next month as Atlanta's first female chief executive.
November 1, 2001
Thomas M. Menino: Main Street Maestro
Winning with commerce
November 1, 2001
Kathleen Sebelius: Believer in Balance
Taking consumers seriously
October 1, 2001
Gerald Gordon: Without Gimmicks
Local economic development efforts operate according to two broad
assumptions. If you're going to have a separate development arm, the
thinking goes, it should be a public-private partnership. And if it's
going to compete successfully, it has to have a bundle of direct
incentives--especially tax write-offs--to throw at businesses.
September 1, 2001
Black, White and Blurred
Race is still an issue in big-city politics. It's just not THE issue
anymore.
August 1, 2001
Webs of Authority
Perhaps because their experience with online government is so new,
local governments remain unsure of how to make room for it within
their organizations. In many--probably in most--it remains the domain
of information technology staff. But this, says Byron West, Denver's
director of television and Internet services, "is like trying to steer
the ship from the engine room."
August 1, 2001
Richard Howorth: Bibliocrat
In 1979, Richard Howorth moved back to Oxford, Mississippi, to open a
bookstore. He had more than simple commerce in mind. Oxford was home
to the University of Mississippi and William Faulkner's native turf,
yet it remained a cultural backwater, remembered around the country,
if at all, as the site of anti-desegregation riots in the early 1960s.
Howorth, who'd grown up in Oxford, saw his store as a place of
culture, literacy and broad-mindedness that could help the town
nurture those values in itself.
June 1, 2001
Larry Bartels: Playing Solomon
For a guy who doesn't vote, Larry Bartels sure knows how to get
himself in a political tangle. True, he never intended to thrust
himself into the contentious debate over racial fairness in public
office. And he certainly didn't plan to put himself at the center of
the first major redistricting case of the decade.
May 1, 2001
Good Old Boy, Circa 2001
Mississippi's House speaker found he couldn't run the place the old-
fashioned way. So he invented a better way.
April 1, 2001
John Chichester: Governor's Nemsis
Three decades ago, as a young man in his early 30s, John H. Chichester
left Virginia's Democratic Party because he thought it had become too
friendly to big government. Fifteen years ago, at the mid-point of the
Reagan years in Washington, he ran for lieutenant governor as a Reagan
supporter and spokesman for his party's conservative wing.
March 1, 2001
The Riskiest Business
Under attack by the feds, the insurance companies they regulate and
the consumers they're supposed to protect, state insurance
commissioners are running out of friends.
February 1, 2001
Mel Martinez: Up from Orlando
Last winter, when Elian Gonzalez went to visit Walt Disney World in
Orange County, Florida, county workers got a chance to see what a
media pile-on looks like. Turns out, it was just a preview.
January 1, 2001
Land Grab
How the eminent domain bulldozer created a private-property backlash.
December 1, 2000
Judy Martz: Cautious Ambition
Judy Martz, soon to become Montana's first woman governor, likes to
wear a turtle pin on her blouse. It's a symbol, she says, of her
motto: "Behold the turtle. He only goes forward when his neck's stuck
out." But as Martz might now be the first to tell you, sometimes not
sticking your neck out gets you further.
October 1, 2000
Not-So-Smart Growth
One way for communities to expand is to grab any piece of unattached
territory nearby. But compulsive annexation carries a high price.
October 1, 2000
Bill Sizemore: Initiative King
Two years ago, Bill Sizemore got drubbed in Oregon's gubernatorial election. Running as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat, John Kitzhaber, he didn't even attract a third of the vote.
September 1, 2000
Rudderless in Hartford
Connecticut's capital city seemed on the verge of a comeback, but the
recovery has largely stalled. The problem may be the structure of its
government.
August 1, 2000
Tom Coleman: Safe Driver
Almost half a century ago, after he'd gotten home from the Korean War, Tom Coleman found himself selling chemical fertilizer to the farmers of south Georgia.
July 1, 2000
The Lonely Leap
So far, Kansas is the only state to have outsourced child welfare on a
large scale. It is still grappling with the consequences.
July 1, 2000
Jim Brulte: Doing It All
Midway through his first year in the California Assembly, Jim Brulte decided the place wasn't for him. It was 1991.
May 1, 2000
Upside Down on Long Island
Democrats won a big victory in Nassau County after years of defeat.
Now they have to find a way to keep the county from going broke.
April 1, 2000
Michael Porter: Cluster Power
At first glance, Michael Porter's key insight, that the ability to compete is the key to business success, doesn't sound all that relevant to state and local policy.
March 1, 2000
Yesterday's Legislature
In the old days, legislatures were secretive and autocratic. In
Albany, the old days continue.
January 1, 2000
Mayor Brown & Mr. Bobb
Can a strong mayor and a strong manager find happiness together in a
city with big problems? So far, yes.