Category Archives: Local Government

Lt. Gov’s Office Outside of Government

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TechCrunch had a great interview yesterday about the new office for Gavin Newsom, the new Lieutenant Governor of California.

Newsom announced that he will forgo an office in San Francisco and will workout of an office/coworking space for entrepreneurs called the Founders Den.  Why?

To bring innovation back to our state government. Founders Den provides the kind of collaborative and creative atmosphere to foster new ideas not only for emerging new businesses, but government as well.

Take a look at the interview, where Lt. Governor Newsom compares government (specifically California’s current cash strapped situation) to that of a startup and the need for entrepreneurial energy in government.

Twitter Helps Cory Booker Dig Out His Residents

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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.

The Things People Vote For

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Emily noticed this last night, while reading our mail-in ballots (you might want to click the image to see the full-size):

Read that carefully.  It says:

Initiated Ordinance 300

Shall the voters for the City and County of Denver adopt an Initiated Ordinance to require the creation of an extraterrestrial affairs commission to help ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents and visitors in relation to potential encounters or interactions with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles, and fund such commission from grants, gifts and donations?

That’s right, the voters of Denver have asked for this measure to be on the ballot (see the WSJ article here).

More on Social Media and Boulder Wildfire

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Here are some more good links discussing the impacts of social media during the Boulder wildfire:

Denver Post – Evacuees use social media to keep up on Boulder wildfire disaster developments

The Huffington Post – Boulder Fire Stokes Community Through Social Media

iDisaster 2.0 – Social Media are being used in response to Colorado Wildfires

Websites Coordinating Response to Wildfire

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There is currently a major wildfire burning in Boulder, Colorado (northeast of Denver).  More than 3,000 homes have been evacuated, and, according to that same Denver Post:

Emergency reverse 911 systems are not working properly and residents are expected to evacuate before they get an alert.

So how are people getting information about this fire?

Folks are getting up to the minute information (and more information about localized evacuations) through Twitter and Facebook.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management maintains an excellent website with an updated Emergency Status page (and runs on Joomla!).  The Status page has been heavily updated throughout the day.

But the Boulder Office of Emergency Management also maintains a Twitter account and a Facebook page.  Both are continuously updated, and their updates are making the rounds on both social networks.

I’ve long said that small cities and counties can use social networking tools instead of licensing expensive texting software to notify citizens of emergencies (outside of reverse 911 systems, that is).  And even in this situation, when reverse 911 systems aren’t working, it is useful for all to have a backup that is easy to post to (text messages for Twitter and Facebook).

The Purpose of a City

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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.

Kansas MPA in New York Times

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I couldn’t be prouder than to see my Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program, the University of Kansas, get a prominent mention recently in the New York Times:

Classes in local government were first offered at the University of Kansas in the late 1940s, when city management was becoming professionalized in reaction to corruption, says Marilu Goodyear, chairwoman of its department of public administration. Students today — including civil engineers, firefighters and police officers seeking to advance to leadership positions — are often interested in careers in city management or finance. Internships are part of most M.P.A. programs. Kansas’ are distinctive: students intern full time in city government their second year. With campuses near Fort Leavenworth, the university also attracts military personnel involved in nation building and reconciliation in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Maj. Robin W. Montgomery, aide to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, graduated last summer.)

Kansas tops the U.S. News & World Report rankings for city management and urban policy.

My friend and classmate Rob (Robin) got a huge mention!  Way to go, Rob!

Public administration is an incredible field, but it often gets confused.  You tell someone you work in government, and they assume you are a politician.  Public administration is typically about the professional government worker (nonpartisan during working hours and unbiased) implementing policies handed down from politicians.

I would recommend an MPA for anyone looking to start, or further, a career in professional government.  If you are starting out, I would recommend attending a program that has very good connections to internships.  Or, find a job in a government and later go back and get an MPA.  Either way, the important part of the degree is the application of real-life experience to MPA classes.

And with all this talk of MPA degrees, I have to brag about the one I just received!: