If you are part of a news organization and want to improve local gov’t, here’s a way: Take your city council seriously. Study how it votes on major issues, who votes with whom, which members are coalition builders and on which issues, and who is endorsed by special interests … and why. Can’t imagine this kind of coverage? Here’s a model. https://www.minnpost.com/elections/2023/08/a-voters-guide-to-who-is-influencing-the-2023-minneapolis-city-council-elections/ #localgov #citypols

If you are an elected official, you may be the target of those who’ll seek to turn your nuanced position … say, about how we should provide #publicsafety … into something most voters reject … like “defunding the police.” What should you do? Use it as an opportunity to explain that progress usually lies in the AND, not the OR. Cops AND violence mediators. Cops AND youth services. You may be surprised how people appreciate being talked UP to. https://voiceofsandiego.org/2023/08/03/fact-check-did-montgomery-steppe-support-defunding-the-police/ #citypols

S.F. Mayor Breed is attracting heavyweight opponents more than a year before reelection. So how has she done as mayor? She has been mostly right on the issues (public safety, homelessness, drugs, housing, getting rid of crazy school board members) but wrong on strategy. In other words, she knows what to do but not how to do it. What other mayor does she resemble? Former Chicago Mayor Lightfoot. Gulp. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/23/us/san-francisco-mayor-election.html #citypols

All quiet on Puget Sound: In 2021 Seattle’s mayor’s race and city council elections were a heated referendum on #publicsafety. More cops or fewer cops? The “more cops” candidates won decisively. In this year’s city council races, the differences among candidates are not as stark, and homelessness could be a bigger issue than public safety. Result: a far more normal city election. https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/05/competing-crises-driving-seattles-city-council-election #citypols

There are young #mayors or mayors-elect in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Akron OH, and newspaper reporters see it as something involving state and national politics. Here’s an alternative narrative: Maybe what’s attracting this young, diverse group to city halls isn’t the chance to be governor, senator or (dream big) president. Maybe leading a city IS the reward. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/were-not-going-to-wait-our-turn-what-democrats-can-glean-from-new-ohio-millennial-mayors.html #civiclead #citypols

A wealthy businessman with no elected experience is running for mayor. Is he the Mike Bloomberg of Philly ... or the Rick Caruso? Or, more likely, will he just disappear without a trace in a crowded field of candidates? https://billypenn.com/2022/12/20/jeff-brown-philadelphia-mayor-outsider-experience-tom-knox/ #citypols #mayors

L.A. has huge problems with crime, homelessness and housing affordability. Ethnic rivalries are intense. The mayor's powers are limited. In such a situation, the city needs a leader with deep political and community experience. Enter Karen Bass. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/11/karen-bass-mayor-los-angeles/ #citypols

"Gonna be a tough battle": Even by Chicago's rough-and-tumble standards, next year's mayor's race should be epic. First-term Mayor Lightfoot faces 10 challengers. Her biggest disadvantage: temperament. Biggest advantage: all those opponents. https://www.wbez.org/stories/lightfoot-seeks-reelection-help-from-old-new-supporters/1dbc9798-58b5-4c5f-aadd-78d0291f9602 #citypols

You can't be around politics or gov't long and not see the theatrical elements. Ribbon-cuttings. Political rallies. Add to the list the first day of registration. That's when stacks of petitions are presented ... sometimes in wheelbarrows. https://www.wbez.org/stories/candidates-for-mayor-city-council-file-nominating-papers/0233aed9-9d08-4199-95dd-456e6a81dc3b #citypols

Another big city has adopted ranked-choice voting for its primaries ... albeit by the slimmest of margins. The newcomer to RCV: Seattle, a place whose city council could use all the moderation it will get. https://crosscut.com/politics/2022/11/seattle-narrowly-approves-ranked-choice-voting #citypols #localgov

Enough to field a football team: We're going to see some exciting mayoral races this year because some incumbents (Denver, Philly) are termed out. But the most exciting may be in Chicago where first-term Mayor Lightfoot, faces ... 10 opponents. https://www.wbez.org/stories/heres-whos-running-for-chicago-mayor/5cc53872-a4f3-440f-ae42-35de867bbd46 #citypols