Public Officials of the Year
For 25 years now, Governing has honored outstanding public officials who have made an indelible impact on the lives of the people they serve. We are pleased to honor the achievements of these dedicated individuals.
In this election year, all attention is on the presidency. We don’t know how this election will go, but we know how things will play out. With Congress narrowly divided, not much will happen in Washington.
That leaves the job of policy innovation wide open for state and local leaders. We know, too, how they will respond: with creative ideas that, when they work, will get copied all over.
That’s why we’re happy to spotlight six exceptional public officials who have made dramatic differences in their communities.
Their number includes both conservatives and progressives, so no one will agree with all their priorities. But each has been so effective, anyone can learn from how they got things done.
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Rob Lloyd has been widely recognized for his work upgrading IT systems in one tech capital, San Jose. He’s starting to do the same in Seattle. -
West Virginia had no private school choice options at all before Patricia Rucker made vouchers universal. Nearly a dozen states have followed suit.
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G.T. Bynum has attracted the largest employers ever to land in Tulsa while dramatically expanding its parks. He’s also helped the city confront its racist past.
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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley convinced the legislature to allow localities to raise taxes. That helped his county address longstanding pension debt.
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The Republican has rewritten the tax code, streamlined agencies and upended the state’s approach on issues ranging from abortion to education.
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The field of public health has been notoriously behind the times when it comes to data. Dr. Philip Huang has changed that in Dallas County, while helping other communities to modernize.
