Tidbits from the Transforming Local Government Conference by the Alliance for Innovation. A great read.
Profound Thoughts from Innovative Public Managers
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Category Archives: Inspiration
Retirement of Fairfax County Executive
The Washington Post has a great article on the retirement of Tony Griffin, Fairfax County’s county executive:
As Fairfax County’s county executive for more than a decade, Griffin has quietly managed one of Virginia’s most diverse and dynamic jurisdictions, a suburb of more than 1 million people that covers nearly 400 square miles. Only one person has held the post longer.
There is a reason I’ve gotten into government, and specifically city/county management. And Tony Griffin has lived a life of it. Go read the article, because this is what I want to do.
Year Interview with Edmonton City Manager
I’ve had this link sitting in my inbox for a long time, and I’ve been meaning to post it. An Edmonton, Alberta, blog posted this interview with the City Manager on his year anniversary. I really like a lot of what Simon Farbrother implemented in Edmonton and his general mindset.
Doodle for 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Inauguration
Google has a great Google Doodle (see it here) for today, the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration as the 35th President of the United States. PCMag has some background, but the Doodle specifically honors Kennedy’s inaugural address. It includes many of the words of Kennedy’s iconic address (read the text of his address here).
See the Doodle here.
You can also see the earliest known draft of the address at the JFK Library website (along with his secretary’s files of dictation and other notes).
Life-Saving Choices in Tucson
From Bloody Scene to E.R., Life-Saving Choices in Tucson – New York Times.
Twitter Helps Cory Booker Dig Out His Residents
I am a little late on this, but I wanted to point out a great public interest/public administration/politics piece.
During the most recent snow storm on the East Coast, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey, patrolled the streets using Twitter to direct snow plows and city workers, and even shoveled out residents and cars himself. The Twitter Blog has a great piece on Booker’s heroic efforts and it links to stories at several major news outlets.
You can follow Mayor Booker (@CoryBooker) on Twitter yourself.
These are the accomplishments we public servants can achieve with the help of social networking and social media. These are the types of things I want to do in public service, and services like Facebook and Twitter can help us all improve our communities.
John’s Motto for City Management
Dr. John Nalbandian imparted these words on a soon-to-graduate class of future city managers:
Honor the past, capture the present, and shape the future.
That is how I hope to impact cities and counties during my career. Thank you, Professor Nalbandian.
The Purpose of a City
The Georgia Municipal Association posted a great article from Otis White on the purpose of a city:
Cities exist to create citizens. Not to generate economic gains (they do, but as a byproduct), or provide a home to the arts, entertainment or learning (again, byproducts), and certainly not to support a government (it’s a means to an end). I would argue that the real purpose of cities is to create a group of people who will take responsibility for their community. And it’s this willingness to accept responsibility that is the difference between a resident and a citizen.
I think we in government (and our residents) forget the ultimate purpose of what we do, which (for me) is to solve common problems that a single individual cannot solve on his or her own. Things like roads, libraries, building codes, and public safety. To do these things, citizens (not residents) formed collectives. We need to continue to reinvigorate our populations and create citizens who get back in the habit of looking out for the greater good and who help create a better place to live.
I don’t know if it is the responsibility of city managers or elected officials to create citizens. But we all need to do more.
I’m adding ‘creating citizens’ to my own mission in local government.