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alan-greenblatt

Alan Greenblatt

Senior Staff Writer

Alan Greenblatt — Senior Staff Writer. Alan covers politics as well as policy issues for Governing. He is the coauthor of a standard textbook on state and local governments. He previously worked as a reporter for NPR and CQ and has written about politics and culture for many other outlets, print and online. He can be found on Twitter at @AlanGreenblatt.

Missouri's Legislature has a plan to take over the police force in St. Louis. It's just one example of states taking direct control of public safety in their largest cities.
Nearly a dozen counties in Oregon have voted to leave Salem behind and join Idaho. Local secession movements have sprung up in multiple states due to the urban-rural political divide.
Blue states have played key roles in all the recent GOP primaries. Plus, rejecting ranked-choice voting, the Pennsylvania House has already had two speakers this year, the seats for St. Louis Board of Aldermen are particularly competitive and Mississippi considers restoring its initiative process.
The real problem is that being a big-city mayor during the pandemic was a no-win proposition. Meanwhile, the race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat has already cost more than $10 million and special elections are likely to be nastier and more expensive than before.
Lots of other Republican governors and senators hoped to be the one who could take down Donald Trump. At this early stage, DeSantis has the best shot, thanks to his ability to frame hot-button issues and attract media attention.
Suicide, overdoses and intake of anxiety medications have all gone up during the pandemic. Counties are having to deal with those challenges and many others, at a time when many of them are losing population and face constrained resources.
South Carolina will hold the first primary election but it isn't yet clear when the first five states' primaries will take place. Meanwhile, no one wants to run Seattle and redistricting never ends.
Republican and Democratic legislators can be counted on pulling in opposite directions on ESG investing, police reform and LGBTQ issues, where the focus will be on transgender rights and school curriculum.
State surpluses are up. So too are appetites for more spending and tax cuts. But inflation has reared its ugly head and the possibility of a recession is very real. Governing sorts out this year's financial picture.
The office recession is real, with downtowns in major cities still missing a majority of their pre-pandemic workforce. San Francisco offers a case study in terms of the consequences.