EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The New York Public Library | June 7, 2016

Yale Mayors College

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2© 2016 Chief Executive Leadership Institute. All rights reserved. Created by BullsEye Resources, www.bullseyeresources.com.

KEY THEMESYale Mayors College

June 7, 2016 | The New York Public Libreary

Yale Mayors College

•TremendousurbanizationhasoccurredinChina,resultinginthemostmegacitiesintheworld.Thisrapidurbanizationisthelargestrural/urbanchangeinhistory.

•Chinahasmademassiveinvestmentsininfrastructure,includingstate-of-thearttransportationsystems.Infrastructureinvestmentsincitieshavebeensupportedbynationalandstatefunding,whichislackingforcitiesintheUnitedStates.

•TheChineseeconomyhasbeenmanufacturingandexportdriven,whichisunsustainable.Itneedstotransformtobecomemoreconsumptiondriven.TheU.S.needstobecomemoreinvestmentdrivenandtakealonger-termperspective.

•GunownershipandviolenceisfarlowerinAsia,wherepreviouserasofdictatorsandstrongstatecontrolrestrictedguns.Evenasregimeshavechanged,gunsarenotreadilyavailable.SomeU.S.mayorsbelievethatgunsaredirectlyrelatedtoviolenceintheUnitedStates.

Cities are creating cultures of compassion.Beingamayortodaymeansoftendealingwithlargenumbersofcitizenswhoarehomelessandmentallyill,includingpanhandlersinmanycities.Mayorssharedexamplesofattemptingtoreducepanhandlingandhomelessnessthroughspecificinitiativesincludingcollaborationamongfaithleaders,lawenforcement,andnon-profits.Dealingwithhomelessnessisacomplexchallenge.Citiesarecom-pelledtoprovideservicesandfacilitiesforpeopleinneed,butdon’twanttosupportandperpetuatean“industry”ofhomelessness;theywanttosolvetheproblem.

Mayors occupy a unique position in AmericaAmericansthinkthepoliticalprocessisbroken,especiallyatthestateandnationallevel.Butmayorsandcitiesaredifferent.Asonemayorsaid,“Wecanputourswordsdown”moreeasilythaninDCandgetthingsdone.Mayorsdon’thavetorespondtospecialinterests,andarepragmatists,notideologues.Mayorsallwantmoreresources,yetmayorscanleverageresourcesthatmaynotbeobvious—likelibrar-ies—tomakeprogressanddrivechange.

“Mayors are our last great hope.” — Former political leader

Much can be learned by examining global cities.ProfessorsPeterPerdueofYaleandQuinnMillsofHarvardBusinessSchoolsharedinsightsandlessonsfromglobalcities,withaparticu-larfocusonChinaandIndia.Amongtheseinsights:

•Thefatesofmegacitiesandtheworldeconomyarelinked.IntheUnitedStates,citiesareenginesofeconomicgrowth.

Anthony W. Marx, President & CEO, The New York Public LibraryMaxwell L. Anderson, Executive Director, New Cities FoundationPeter C. Perdue, Professor of History, Yale UniversityToni Nathaniel Harp, Mayor, New Haven, ConnecticutGreg Fischer, Mayor, Louisville, KentuckyTom Tait, Mayor, Anaheim, CaliforniaCarolyn G. Goodman, Mayor, Las Vegas, NevadaTony Martinez, Mayor, Brownsville, TexasPaul Soglin, Mayor,Madison, Wisconsin Douglas W. Rae, Professor of Management, Yale School of ManagementChristopher Shays, Congressman (1987-2009), State of ConnecticutJohn Curtis, Mayor, Provo City, UtahMelvin L. Holden, Mayor, Baton Rouge, LouisianaTim Mahoney, Mayor, Fargo, North Dakota

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor, Baltimore, MarylandMark Stodola, Mayor, Little Rock, ArkansasDean M. Esserman, Chief of Police, New Haven, ConnecticutByron Brown, Mayor, Buffalo, New YorkVirg Bernero, Mayor, Lansing, MichiganOscar B. Goodman, Mayor (1999-2011), Las Vegas, NevadaDavid R. Martin, Mayor, Stamford, ConnecticutStephanie Miner, Mayor, Syracuse, New YorkChuck Barney, Mayor, Minot, North DakotaEthan Berkowitz, Mayor, Anchorage, AlaskaJon Mitchell, Mayor, New Bedford, MassachusettsRichard J. Berry, Mayor, Albuquerque, New MexicoSly James, Mayor, Kansas City, MissouriBeth Van Duyne, Mayor, Irving, Texas

TheYaleMayorsCollegebroughttogethermorethan20mayorsfromacrosstheUnitedStates,alongwithacademics,futurists,andleadingthinkerstoexaminesomeofthemostcriticalissuesfacingmayorsandcities.Topicsdiscussedincludedgloballessonsonurbanmodernity,improvingcommunityengagementandpublicsafety,economicdevelopment,anddisruptivetechnologiesincities.Participantsincluded:

Carolyn Goodman, Mayor, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Richard J. Berry, Mayor, Albuquerque, New Mexico

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orkeepprofessionalsportsteams,whichareprivateentitiesownedbywealthyindividuals.Ingeneral,suchdealsdon’tnetapositivepayout.

Othersarguedagainsttaxesandeconomicincentives,assertingthatbusinessareattractedtogoodcommunitiesthathavegoodschools,roads,education,andagoodqualityoflife.Investinginamoderninfra-structurewasseenbysomeasabetterstrategythantaxgiveaways.And,evenbetterthantryingtolureoutsidecompaniesishavinganentrepre-neurialecosystemthatproducesnewcompaniesandjobsorganically.

Social media is a disruptive technology that many mayors are embracing.Socialmediagivesmayorsandothercityleaderstheabilitytodis-seminatemessagesandcommunicatewithcitizenswithouthavingtorelyonthemedia.Themayorsweregenerallycriticalofthemediaforbeinglazyandpreferringasensationalisticnarrativethatinvolvesconflict.Whenusingsocialmedia,likeTwitterandblogs,mayorscancommunicatefactsandcandelivermessagestothecommunitythatareunfilteredbythemedia.Severalmayors,someofwhomwereini-tiallyskeptical,havehadtremendoussuccesswithsocialmedia.Theyhavehighreadershipandhavecreatedavehicletointeractdirectlyandinexpensivelywithlargenumbersofcitizens.

ThosemayorswhoarenowtechandTwittersavvyurgedotherstospendatleast10minutesperdayonsocialmediacommunicatingwithcitizens,tonotdelegatethisresponsibility,andtorequirethatallpartsofcitygovernmentusesocialmediatoprovidegreatertransparency.

“Social media is more important than I ever imagined it would be. A modern city needs social media in all city offices.”

— Mayor

Mayorsaretakingunconventionalstepsofworkingtocreate“culturesofcompassion”andadvocating“kindness”withagoalof“makingkindnesscontagious.”

Relationships are the key to improving community engagement and public safety.Manycitiesandmayorshaveexperiencedchallengingsituationsinvolvingviolenceanddisorder.Therewasagreementthatpreventingsuchincidentsandbeingabletoeffectivelymanagethemstartswithproactivelyinvestingindevelopingpersonalrelationships,particu-larlybetweenpoliceofficersandpeopleinthecommunity.

“We started building relationships long before this incident; not during it.”

— A city police chief

Amayorwhosecityhadexperiencedsomeunrestdescribedarticulat-ingtothecommunityandtolawenforcementthattheywereinamarriageanddivorcewasnotanoption.Theywerestucktogetherandhadtodecidewhethertomaketherelationshiphealthyorunhealthy.

Partofforgingahealthyrelationshipisforthemayorandothersinthecitytolistentopeople.InLansing,Michigan,thecitylistenedtocitizens’concernsaboutleadinpipes;innearbyFlint,Michigan,officialsdidn’tlisten.

Attracting companies and creating jobs is about more than tax incentives.Mayorsfeeltrappedbythegameofhavingtooffervarioustypesoftaxandeconomicincentivestoattractcorporateemployerstolocateintheircities.Mostfrustratingtosomeisspendinghugesumstoattract

Dean M. Esserman, Chief of Police, New Haven, Connecticut

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor, Baltimore, Maryland

David R. Martin, Mayor, Stamford, Connecticut, Sly James, Mayor, Kansas City, Missouri, and Beth Van Duyne, Mayor, Irving, Texas

Virg Bernero, Mayor, Lansing, Michigan, Paul Soglin, Mayor, Madison, Wisconsin, and Mark Stodola, Mayor, Little Rock, Arkansas

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Other Topics Discussed

•Digital infrastructure. Ascitiesthinkaboutmodernizingtheirinfrastructuretheyshouldnotjustthinkaboutthephysicalinfra-structurebutshouldalsoincludethedigitalinfrastructure.

•Taxes/services. Severalmayorsexpressedfrustrationthatwhilecities’primarysourceofrevenueispropertytaxes,asignificantpercentageoftheirpropertyisoffthetaxrolls.Thisoftenincludesuniversitiesandnon-profithospitals,whichusecityservices(likethepoliceandfiredepartment)butdon’tcontributetopayingforthem.Thisledmultiplemayorstostate,“Thepropertytaxmodelisbroken.”Somecitieshaveworkedwithnon-taxpayerstoestablishserviceagreementsorarrangementsfor“paymentinlieuoftaxes.”Butthesearemoretheexceptionthantherule.

Useofsocialmediaenablesmayorsandcitiestodecreasetherelianceontraditionalmediatogetmessagesout,andtobeabletogoaroundthepress,whichisnowmuchlessimportantandrelevant.Somemayorsmentionednolongerissuingpressreleasesanddecreasingthefrequencyofmeetingswiththeeditorialboardoflocalnewspapers.However,otherscounteredthatdespitethepowerofsocialmedia,anddespiteattimeshavingadversarialrelationshipswiththepress,itisstillimportanttomeetwiththeeditorialboard,whichholdsswaywithsomeolderconstituentswhotendtovote.