Mayor Matters
There comes a point in every race for public office, when a clear front-runner emerges and the question becomes not, “Who will win?” but, “Will he keep his promises when he does?”
That hasn’t happened yet in Houston’s race for mayor. Granted, it’s difficult for a municipal candidate to have too much to say about national headline issues like, immigration reform or universal healthcare; but if you’re going to run the fourth largest city in the nation (and the fastest growing) you do need to be able to think big.
I’ve spoken to all of the major candidates, and they don’t vary much in their opinions on the four main issues that have emerged — roads and infrastructure, the pension deficit (or indeed the city’s finances in general), public safety and the controversial
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Yes, everyone should have equal rights. Yes, we want to fix the roads. Yes, the city’s finances are laughable. But what can one person who will hold the office for a maximum of six years do about any of those things that will effectively change the city as we know it?
For example, Ben Hall, one of the favourites to win in November, proposes a fantastical system of underground tunnels that will serve not only as roads but as a flood relief system during the worst of our rains.
It’s a great plan, in theory, but there are engineers that will spend their entire careers on a project like that — something much bigger than Hall or even the city itself. If executed, it would be one of the greatest infrastructure reforms ever to happen here.
But, then again, most mayors do not think long term — and thinking long term would do wonders for Houston.
Chris Bell, with his connections in Washington and Sylvester Turner with his connections in Austin would both be in a position to raise awareness in government to get more funding to Houston for financial issues — the pension for public employees is decided by the state, not the
credible candidates. It may still be possible to engage in democracy in a meaningful way;
City Hall needs to deflect criticisms and become more accountable. Image is not more important than action.
The issue of purchasing the Reformed Church of Palos Heights exemplified that the citizens are the ones who run the city. The citizens made their presence known in the City Council meetings as well as in the media. The Aldermen attempted to first bribe the Al Salam Mosque Foundation of Chicago with $200,000, and then to purchase the Reformed Church of Palos Heights. The Mayor sided with the people and vetoed the idea of paying $200,000 to the Al Salam Mosque Foundation of Chicago. In the end, the democratic policies on which our country was founded prevailed. The voices of the citizens were heard with a vote AGAINST: 2,856.
Mayor Martin O’Malley put the idea into motion. As said in a letter from Thomas D. Vicino, from the New York Times, “Mayor Martin O'Malley's efforts should be applauded. He has conquered the first obstacle in fighting urban decay: recognition of a problem. Keep on believing, Baltimore, because if we don't, how can anything change?” (Vicino, New York Times). There is really no other way to summarize all of the things Mayor O’Malley has done for the campaign. Another important role is the Baltimore Believe Leadership. This group works with the help number, 1-866-BELIEVE, and the campaign by setting up fundraisers and other events. Mayor O’Malley and the Baltimore Believe Leadership hold press conferences to inform the people about what goes on with the Believe Campaign’s progress and areas of concern regularly so the community stays informed on the progress. The community is another big role in the campaign. The communities of Baltimore City have taken the campaign in and “believe” it will have a positive affect on their communities.
On Monday, April 13th, 2009, I visited the Culver City city council meeting, and found that they operate using a council-manager form of government. For a city with a population of about 38,000, this type of governmental structure is fairly common, and I was not surprised to see it in action in a community where the median household income is around $56,000 a year. Culver City is also a culturally rich community with a 60 percent Caucasian population, and a quarter of the residents are either of African American or Asian decent. The mayor, D. Scott Malsin, is one of five members on the council, and his term as mayor is on a rotating basis. Having been to a Hermosa Beach city council meeting with a similar council-manager structure, I knew what to expect.
In addition, it isn’t feasible for a voter to comprehend the numerous offices and candidates in an election and how informed do voters need to be, in order for them to be confident in their choice. However, with the removal of straight-ticket voting, voter turnout may decrease, but the vote quality will increase due to an improved versed decision and in addition, an increase in the chance of a professional holding a government position. There are no excuses for voters to not be informed because there are various resources that determine an individual preferred political candidate. Through the use of the internet, websites offer political quizzes that matches a voter's beliefs with a candidate. For example, Isidewith.com is an online website that asks the participant various question about concerning issues in politics such as, abortion, , environmental, economic, and domestic policy issues. Based on the results, it will give the participant selections on the candidates that closely relates to their beliefs.
... many parts of the city are breaking down, the school system and the children of the city are suffering more than anyone. There are school buildings that are falling down with leaking roofs. There are classrooms that are overcrowded because the district cannot afford to pay additional employees. Test scores of the students are suffering and many children are falling further and further behind the national standard. In order for the city to rise from the ruins it is in right now, it is necessary for someone to take responsibility for the issues within the schools and fix them. It is impossible to increase the population and tax income in the city when people are continuously moving away. It is time for Detroit to make their children feel safe and cared for at school, and time to make school an enjoyable place again so that the students can begin to thrive again.
It was interesting to find that 39 percent of all earnings in New Orleans come from residents who worked in the central city. I did not think that the central city of New Orleans had such a dense market for higher paying jobs! This fact is very positive for the city, and hopefully the corporate services industry continues to grow here in New Orleans because the density allows for overall productivity. And the suburban property values outside New Orleans depend on the availability of jobs and an active economy in the Central Business District. So places like Metairie and River Ridge or “edge cities” really rely on the strength of the central city of New Orleans. Therefore it should be the vested interest of both city and suburban residents to scrutinize federal policy that affects the economic health of all cities.
...ite City should be put in consideration primarily. Very often people might see on the news that crime happens every day and violence and corruption are part of it. To promote a better society to future generations these serious issues should be taken into action adequately to minimize numerous deaths in the city of Chicago.
Texas inhabitants have decisions of some sort almost every year, and at more than one cases all through the 12 months. all through biennial in vogue races, the gigantic scope of workplaces and submissions brings about phenomenally long tickets. electorate, confronted with tickets loaded down with applicant names and issues unforeseen to them, astonish why they ought to vote.
The fourth chapter of City Politics by Dennis R. Judd & Todd Swanstrom covers the rise of "Reform Politics" with many local governments during the first half of the 1900s as a way to combat the entrenched political machines that took control of many large city governments in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Over the course of the chapter, Judd & Swanstrom quickly cover the history of the "reform movement" with different examples of how the reform movement affected city politics in different areas.
Some of Detroit’s most trusted people like the Mayor Kwame Kilipatrick has stolen money from Detroit putting Detroit in debt. The city of Detroit experienced a major setback when the scandal of Mayor Kilipatrick came out along with businesses shutting down, and schools closing. Detroit’s image being pretty badly badgered Mayor Bing came in and hired help, and made a lot of changes to try to help decrease the debt Detroit already had but really added on to. I think any person who becomes mayor needs to know how to work numbers for themselves. I also think the mayor should be the cities personal emergency financial manager, a mayor should know how to budget and handle large amounts of money for funding for funding.
Whoosh! That is the precise sound I heard as the crazed flock of travelers headed for the train terminal. My best friend, Stacy, and I were left disoriented and understandably confused once the crowd thinned. We were at Madison Square Garden at the train terminal awaiting our train back to the hotel; it was our first trip to New York City. As one may imagine, it was a fascinating and surreal voyage into extreme urban life. It was so enthralling and exciting that afterward I felt compelled to make a permanent trek to a large city. Due to my experiences in cities like Atlanta and New York, I have an increasing desire to live in a large city because of the various forms of entertainment, myriad of transportation, and the never-ending excitement typical of such a fast-paced lifestyle.
The issue of diversity in the public sector goes beyond noticeably visible differences, and expands to areas such as culture and population changes. Public leaders manage diversity not only to meet legal obligations, but as a method to improve governance, decision making, efficiency and performance. The role of diversity in public administration is to aid leaders in providing equal opportunities to all employees and stakeholders with in the public sector. Demographic changes are inevitable therefore public agencies can benefit from implementing a diverse workforce by drawing on talent from the widest possible pool. Likewise, by placing diversity at the forefront of policy making, public leaders can attract a diverse array of stakeholders.
As we inform each other over the agendas of each candidate, we must explore which is committed to making this country into a better place, not only satisfy your own selfish reasons, which is considered a social responsibility. There so much that comes into factor, like what are the candidate’s thoughts, in the foreign policy, economic growth, health policy, etc. and it’s true that in politics, not everyone is going be pleased but we should try our best for our vote to be good cause and that could implement change many diverse laws we have today. Presidential elections should not be only big issue we have in the U.S, but local government elections play such big outcome in how everything is being in your state, like voting for the Governor that appeals to more to your ideals or that can fix the issues the state have been suffering through. Slowly I’ve started to see people involving themselves with more local government changes which is great, if we can change the power of state for the good then there’s high chances we will do for the whole country and for that to become a fact is for everyone to vote, stay informed with all issues and standings that each candidate wants to bring to the table, and be courteous of others and how your life and others can be affect by just a single