Washington DC being a government entity has the basic mission of ensuring peace, order, and good governance as well as delivering basic goods and services. Williams said that he “came into the city to do two things: to rebuild the fundamental operations of the government while at the same time building greater respect, affinity for, identification with the government [by] citizens. ...” He promised that he would accomplish that through getting “‘back to basics,’ and build a more responsive city workforce.” His mission was to create a more responsive city force and a better perception and relationship with the citizens of the District. He put a great emphasis on citizens’ input and involvement in governance as well as on data driven strategy.
When first taking office one of his first steps was inviting DC residents to a citizen’s summit where they were asked to define and rank priorities. He had a great focus on improving the city’s basic services, which have been failing to meet the public’s needs. He set out to achieve his mission through his strategic plan for the city that consisted of 5 strategic priorities: “building and sustaining neighborhoods; strengthen children youth and families; making government work; promoting economic development; enhancing unity of purpose and democracy.” After working with citizens to
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In his inaugural address, Mayor Williams “ran down a laundry list of ‘basics’ that city government needed to provide” which included filling potholes, collecting garbage, improving 911 response times, and improving the wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles . Williams knew that his list of improvements should be a reconciliation of what the public values and what protects and enhances the public sphere. By publicly acknowledging these issues at the start of his administration, he was signaling to the public that he was committed to creating these valued basic services for every
After reading the case study Welcome to the new town manager, by Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt, I established three major problems the community of Opportunity needed to correct. These problems involved the water & sewer system, the balancing budget, & the pay-as-you-go method. The city manager, Jennifer Holbrook, must implement strategies that would correct these problems quickly.
Constraints that hampered Mayor Williams was the the federal government. Mayor Williams had to work with the federal government on a day to day basis. It was not whether Mayor Williams could lead and coordinate in the time of terrorist attacked, it was whether the federal government would allow him. Due to the federal government's power, Mayor William's leadership style was different compared to Giuliani's "like-it-or-not, this-is-the-way-it-is" leadership style. On the other hand, Mayor Williams has to address and work with federal government in order to get his plan
Buzz Bissinger’s A Prayer for the City discussed many issues that impacted cities around the nation, but more specifically the problems of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia has had an illustrious history as an American city- the Declaration of Independence was signed there, it was one of America 's first cities, and currently it has the fifth largest population of any city. When Rendell took office as mayor, he faced a multitude of issues. Some of these issues were “immediate crises” that he believed may go away by some miracle, others would require much more work and seemed to be nearly impossible tasks. Among the problems for Philadelphia were crippling unemployment, crime, and race relations within the
The once-celebrated marriage of Anacostia to the rest of the city is troubled. D.C. itself is troubled financially, which cripples its ability to help Anacostia residents improve their community. To some extent, what happened in Anacostia is similar to what happened in other inner cities across the U.S. But in important ways, the governmental bodies involved here are quite different: the city of Washington exists as a colony of the federal government, which exerts more direct legislative and financial control over the District than other cities in America. It is also the largest employer and the largest landholder.
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.
In all, the Phoenix City Council assembly, as anticipated, covered a huge breadth of topics. From voting in the antidiscrimination law to liquor licenses to historical appellations, the meeting directly addressed planning in nearly all of its forms. Through the meeting, I understood the process of decision making in the city as they address the pressing issues in line with the opinions of the public while the council vetoes other decisions in.
Washington encouraged his white audience to reach out to the Negroes around them, who populated a third of the South. If they were to help the Negroes, they would then return the favor and contribute to society instead of dragging it down. Washington reminded the audience that the only way to move forward was to bring everyone, people
One of the problems today is that America’s distrust for their leaders because they view them as ineffectual and removed. There is a need in America to democratize the public planning process and decision-making process. Many times projects, developments, and policy decisions are made without significant public input and participation. This often leads to m...
Between 1900 and 1950, New York City’s population doubled to nearly eight million. The population explosion strained city agencies and infrastructure. To manage, city officials planned expansive public works projects that were funded under the New Deal. City officials, supported by federal funds, routinely pushed through these enormous projects. While these investments seemed to benefit everyone, a closer look reveals deep-rooted injustices.
While this leadership style made him an effective decision maker, it fostered a perception of antagonism towards minority groups. He thought of solutions that would benefit the city for many years to come, and he had known they would initially affect minority communities the most. During the budget cuts in 1983, when “…The City wasn’t taking in enough cash to balance the budget” {Soffer, 235}, Koch met with minority group politicians and informed them that minority neighborhoods would suffer the most. He encouraged them to push for additional aid to compensate for “the lack of services in the neighborhoods” {235}. Fortunately, he did not pay a large price because New York managed to recover from the recession quicker th...
He highlights the strengths of the country and tells the people what he feels needs to be fixed. He gives the opinions the others don’t want to say. After explaining why he will not be running again, he brings up the divide of the nation. He states that we are always stronger together and reminds us to always do things as one. “You have in common cause fought and triumphed together,” (Washington). Overall, Washington brings into question what is valued, and then pushes them to question themselves and make themselves
International City Management Association. Service Delivery in the 90's: Alternative Approaches for Local Governments: Washington D.C.: International City Management Association, 1989.
Woodrow Wilson’s purpose in writing “The Study of Administration” is to bring awareness that the government systems in place need to be re-evaluated and improved. Wilson encourages we need to examine the history of administration set forth by others in determining certain needs to be accomplished in effective ways and methods. Wilson’s desirable outcomes for research within the public administration field are for government systems to become more productive and organized.
♦ Make a strong commitment to community-oriented policing. Everyone in the police department should be involved, not just a few units or off...
... he hoped would be a major campaign to achieve a seismic shift in the attitude of political parties and politicians to the nurturing and development of communities outside the big cities.