GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

Game day for one of college football's storied rivalries. Every year, the City of Jacksonville, Florida plays host to the Georgia-Florida Game (or Florida-Georgia, depending on the year) and welcomes two fanbases from rival schools for events, tailgating and more. Brent Fine, the Special Events Manager for the City of Jacksonville, and Rick Catlett, the President/CEO of Gator Bowl Sports, joined the podcast to talk about the planning it takes to pull off the annual event. They shared how they manage relationships with both universities, the unique history and tradition associated with the game, and the coordination on everything from parking enforcement to trash pickup.

Live from the 2018 ICMA Conference in Baltimore, MD. The new ICMA President, Karen Pinkos, joined the podcast to talk about her career path, leadership and her tips for young professionals. She answered questions from the audience and talked about her new role as ICMA's 4th female President. Karen was recently selected to serve as the next City Manager of El Cerrito, CA, where she has been the Assistant City Manager since 2001.

Transparency before it was cool. Three people from the City of Kansas City, Missouri joined the podcast to talk about how KCMO uses data to inform their decision making and how they hold themselves accountable to achieving their strategic plan. Kate Bender, Deputy Performance Officer, Bo McCall, Performance Analyst, and Chris Hernandez, Communications Director, shared the story of KC Stat, a monthly data and performance meeting. They also explained how the What Works Cities Certification helped them and what they learned from going through that process.

Parkour! Running, jumping and climbing through the urban landscape is catching on as a new form of play. Colin MacDonald the Design Director for Parkour Visions came on the podcast to talk about adding parkour elements to parks and teaching parkour. He explained how parkour can activate otherwise bland landscape and teaches people how to fall.

College Football and Local Government. GovLove is looking at how local governments across the country deal with game day. Glenn Bartolome, a System Impacts & Events Coordinator for King County Metro Transit, joined the podcast to discuss how they get thousands of fans to the University of Washington football stadium. The stadium is located in a dense urban neighborhood and both the University and the county encourage fans to take transit to the game, Glenn explains how they work together to provide that service, how it impacts operations and who pays to shuttle fans from across the city.

Getting outcomes from engagement. Kit Cole is a public engagement consultant and a board member of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). She discusses the value and types of engagement, plus the importance of engagement in local government. Kit also compares the approaches to engagement in big, urban cities like Los Angeles versus small, rural communities like Brownsville, Oregon. Prior to becoming a consultant Kit worked for public utilities, Waste Management Inc. and the California state government.

Preserving quality of life in shrinking Iowa cities. A grant from the National Science Foundation is exploring how communities can protect quality of life and community infrastructure while they lose population. The Shrink Smart Project aims to develop data-driven tools to assist towns in actively planning for shrinkage. Three people from Iowa State University joined the podcast: Kimberly Zarecor is an Associate Professor of Architecture, Sara Hamideh is an Assistant Professor of Community & Regional Planning, and Eric Davis is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science. They discussed how they are using both data and qualitative research to figure out why some rural communities are maintaining their quality of life while they shrink and others don't.

College Football and Local Government. Fall is here and that means football season, and at GovLove we are taking a look at how local governments across the country deal with game day. Mayor Walt Maddox from the City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama talked about how they handle the influx of fans filling the University of Alabama stadium, which seats over 100,000 people. From trash pickup and security to planning and transportation Mayor Maddox gives a behind the scenes look at one of the most raucous game day atmospheres in the county and how local government makes it possible.

Playing matchmaker and reducing implicit bias. The CEO of Strategic Government Resources (SGR), Ron Holifield, joined GovLove to talk about how they are pushing local governments to change how they recruit. He shared his career path from time as a City Manager to leading a recruiting firm. Ron talked about his company's philosophy, the hierarchy of leadership and the SGRecruiter tool, which will match passive job seekers with organizations and help reduce implicit bias.

Using data and design to creatively solve problems. Tina Walha the Director of the Innovation & Performance team at the City of Seattle, Washington joined the podcast to talk about her team's work. She shared her path into local government, which started with a stint in Mayor Bloomberg's administration in New York City. Tina discussed the work of Seattle's i-Team, how they are building on the use of data and what Seattle did to earn a What Works Cities Certification.

A smart rural community. David Clyne the City Manager and Shawn Irvine the Economic Development Director join GovLove to talk about their work for the City of Independence, Oregon. This small city of about 9,000 people has used technology like municipal broadband to infuse a culture of technology into the work of the City and the culture of the community. They have worked on projects using a virtual situation room, agricultural technology and more.

Code for America recently hosted a National Day of Civic Hacking as a call to action bringing together civic leaders, local governments, and community organizations. Groups across the country got together to work on some of our toughest challenges. ELGL Executive Director, Kirsten Wyatt, was down in San Francisco, California at the Code for America headquarters and talked to three participants in the National Day of Civic Hacking. Alex Gaesser discussed working on bike transportation, Connor English talked about a project dealing with foster care and Matt Castillon lead a group working with building inspections data to deal with affordable housing.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Prize recognizes communities that have placed a priority on health and are creating powerful partnerships and deep commitments to provide everyone, especially those facing the greatest challenges, with a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. Katie Wehr from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Julie Willems Van Dijk from the University of Wisconsin's Institute of Public Health joined GovLove to talk about what a culture of health is, stories from communities that are doing it well and different approaches to public health.

The City Manager of Hillsboro, Oregon, Michael Brown, joined GovLove to talk about his approach to recruiting for department directors and other top level vacancies. Michael shared how when his Assistant City Manager announced their retirement he spent time rethinking the position and allowing the departments and staff that will report to the new person to have input on what to look for. He also shared his career path into local government and his passion for the band Tool.

The Director of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works Department, Cathy B. Bailey, joined GovLove to talk about her career path. Cathy started as a chemist in 1992 for the Cincinnati, OH water department and was named the director in 2015. She talked about how her department is removing lead lines by working with partners across the community, what her job is like day to day, and her perspective on diversity in local government.

In Governing and Living Cities' 2018 Equipt to Innovate survey the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina was chosen as the top overall performer. Rebecca Jackson, the Strategic Performance Analytics Director, joined the podcast to talk about her work and what it means to be chosen as the most innovative city in the nation. Rebecca shared Fayetteville's approach to strategic planning, how they include resident input and their process improvement work. This interview was recorded from the North Carolina Local Government Budget Association (NCLGBA) 2018 Summer Conference in Atlantic Beach, NC.

Why not Dodge? Melissa McCoy, Assistant City Manager/Public Affairs, joins GovLove to talk about the tourism industry and the old west. The City of Dodge City, Kansas turned around the old phrase "get the heck out of Dodge" into an effort to bring people to the queen of the cowtowns. In 1997 residents of Dodge City voted to approve a dedicated portion of the sales tax to fund projects to encourage tourism.

Managing change and investing in dignity in Mississippi's state capital. Dr. Robert Blaine joined the podcast to talk about his role as the Chief Administrative Officer for Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in Jackson. He shared what it's like setting up an administration and what they've dealt with in the first year in office. Dr. Blaine described his path into local government, he was a trombonist, conductor and academic before making the leap into managing a city. He also talked about Jackson's strategic plan and taking over the Jackson Public Schools.

Trends in civic technology. Andrew Kirk, the Chief Revenue & Operations Officer for CitySourced, joined the podcast to talk about civic technology from his vantage point as a vendor. Andrew shared his path to civic tech, how he sees government changing, and CitySourced's efforts to build a mobile City Hall.

Two Innovation & Technology staff from the City of Boston, Massachusetts joined the podcast to talk about their work. Laura Melle is the Sr. Procurement Lead and Stefanie Costa Leabo is the Interim Chief Data Officer, both shared how they are using their positions to be a resource for city departments. They discussed how Boston is doing procurement differently (including more RFPs), how they are using data to make decisions, and how What Works Cities helped them do those things.

The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati was the inaugural winner of ELGL & The Atlas' Water You Waiting For Award, recognizing the best water project. Reese Johnson, Principal Engineer for the sewer district, came on the podcast to talk about their smart sewers project and his passion for wastewater. Reese explained how smart sensors are helping to keep wastewater out of local streams and rivers in Cincinnati. Plus he describes working with IT staff and gives tips to other people that want to change their industries.

From municipal bankruptcy to universal basic income. Kurt Wilson, the City Manager of Stockton, California, has managed the city through a lot of change. Kurt came on GovLove for a wide ranging conversation that covered his path into public service, principled policing in Stockton, working for Governor Schwarzenegger's administration and more. He described what it's like to manage a City through the bankruptcy process and how Stockton will be the first city to pilot a universal basic income program.

Performance and analytics in the City of San Diego, California. Almis Udrys, Deputy Chief of Staff for Innovation & Performance, and Maksim Pecherskiy, Chief Data Officer, joined the podcast to discuss their work solving problems and improving customer service using data. Each talked about their path into local government, why pandas are their department's mascot, and what San Diego did to earn a What Works City certification.

A podcast on technology in the public sector. Civic Tech Chat is hosted by Ryan Koch and explores everything from open data to innovation. Ryan joined GovLove to talk about his path into public service, which started in the Army and included a deployment to Iraq. He also explained why he started the Civic Tech Chat podcast, what they are hoping to achieve with the podcast and even his dream guest.

From public records requests to emergency communications we talk with two local government attorneys about all the legal questions that come with Police body cameras. Dan Bolin and Ellen Emery, two Partners at the Ancel Glink law firm in Chicago, Illinois share their expertise and experience on the issue. They share common concerns from working with Police Departments, the hidden costs of body worn cameras and how the videos can help with getting information to the public.

Three Parks and Recreation professionals from across the country joined GovLove to talk about their work. They talked about how they are working to be more equitable, from serving the Spanish speaking community to building parks for residents with disabilities or engaging young people. Learn how all three organizations are being innovative and using partnerships to provide better services. Kylie Bayer-Fertterer is the Equity Coordinator for Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District (THPRD) in the Portland metro area; Justin Cutler is the Recreation Services Manager for the City of Westminster, Colorado in the Denver metro area; and, Peter Cosmiano is the Director of Parks and Recreation in the City of Jasper, Alabama outside of Birmingham.

Building capacity and empowering employees through the use of data. Joy Bonaguro, the Chief Data Officer for the City and County of San Francisco, California discusses her path to local government, her approach to data and scaling solution. She also shared why San Francisco went for the What Works Cities Certification, which she describes as something that was missing from the field because it provides a framework for government, has political durability, and is externally validated.

Talking housing segregation and public policy. Richard Rothstein is the author of "The Color of Law," a book about a forgotten history of how the government segregated America. Rothstein discussed his book and how the segregation in our cities was caused by different government policies, not the preferences of residents. From the federal level down to local zoning and urban renewal decisions Rothstein argues that the government caused segregated neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation.

The genius behind City Council Chronicles, Michael Karlik, is back with a new podcast. Tear It Down tells the story of North College Hill, Ohio and a "small group of outsiders wanted to change their city for the better." Michael shares why he started the City Council Chronicles, what he's learned from watching Council meetings around the world, and why he spent 10 months looking into a small Ohio town.

From data to policing, the impact of demographics. Three panelists shared their expertise on how Kansas is changing: Sergeant Amy Rhoads, from Lawrence, KS, Ileana Serrano, from the US Census Bureau, and Cathy Boyer-Shesol, from the Mid-America Regional Council. Each shared their perspective on how the workplace is changing, how Kansas is changing and more.

From the NFL to the campaign trail. Aaron Rouse, former Green Bay Packer, is running for City Council in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He talked about why he's running for office, how local government needs to change to be more inclusive and representative of the people it serves. Aaron shared his vision for Virginia Beach, collaborating regionally and serving all residents in the city.

Local Government IT in Silicon Valley. Jonathan Reichental the Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer in Palo Alto, California shared his perspective on procurement, recruitment and civic tech. He talked about his path into local government, how cities can do a better job of making technology a part of their strategy and what he sees as trends in the field.

Christine Edwards, the Community Relations Coordinator for Mecklenburg County, NC, and James Gaston III, a Budget Analyst for Petersburg, VA, join the podcast to talk about the work of NFBPA and making local government more diverse. They discuss ELGL's diversity dashboard and the importance of measuring how diverse our workplaces are. They also share how to start a conversation about diversity and the importance of representation.

Talking public service, partisanship and policy. Mickey Edwards is a vice president at the Aspen Institute where he leads a bipartisan fellowship program for elected officials. Mickey was a member of Congress for 16 years, serving on the House Budget and Appropriations Committees and as a chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee. Mickey discussed his path into public service, the importance of writing and how political parties negatively impact democracy.

Organizing to solve our nation's problems. Jenn Brown the Executive Director of Civic Nation joined GovLove to talk about her work fighting for social change and organizing. Civic Nation runs organizing and public awareness campaigns to empower people to address some of our biggest problems. Prior to working at Civic Nation Jenn led Battleground Texas and the Obama campaign's efforts in Ohio. Jenn shares her path into public service and experience fighting for equality.

Making the world better. A father-son duo join the podcast this week, Tom Barwin is the City Manager of Sarasota, FL and his son Connor Barwin is an NFL defensive end and Pro Browler. They talked about their influences, giving back to the community and more. Connor also shared the work of his non-profit Make the World Better and how his father's career impacted him.

A new program from Bloomberg's What Works Cities is recognizing and celebrating the local governments that are leading the nation in the use of data. Simone Brody, the Executive Director of What Works Cities, and Jennifer Park, the Associate Director, came on GovLove to talk about What Works Cities Certification. They share why cities should pursue certification, success stories from the first 9 certified cities and how it can be scaled to all sizes of cities. Topics: Lightning round (3:05), What the certification program is and why it matters (6:05), The similarities between cities that applied (8:40), The blueprint for getting certification (10:35), Success stories from the certified cities (16:00), How certification helps with a cultural change toward data (24:30), Scalability of solutions for smaller cities (26:40), and How they want certification to be a national movement (31:10).

The procurement process often frustrates local governments and vendors alike, but it seems like a process that will never change. Mariel Reed the Founder and CEO of CoProcure wants to rethink that. CoProcure is a startup that helps local governments improve procurement to promote economic development. She came on GovLove to discuss her work, the potential for a 'Common App' for procurement and the work she did at the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Civic Innovation. Topics: Lightning round (2:00), Mariel's career path (9:00), Her work at the San Francisco Mayor's Office (13:10), the Civic Bridge and Startup in Residence programs in San Francisco (16:25), the work of CoProcure (28:25), the case for the 'Common App' for government procurement (32:50), and what's next for CoProcure (43:50).

The CEO and Co-Founder of SeeClickFix, Ben Berkowitz, joined GovLove to talk about civic technology and innovation. Ben described how the SeeClickFix story started with graffiti and has resulted in over 1,000,000 community members, 300 local governments and 3,000,000 issues fixed. Plus Ben and Kirsten reminiscence about how SeeClickFix helped give birth to the GovLove podcast.

Balancing work and life, recruiting the best and brightest, and preparing future leaders. Three guests joined GovLove to talk about the workforce of the future and their perspectives. The panel included: Joey Garcia an Administrative Analyst in Torrance, CA; Peter Castro the Assistant to the City Manager in Indian Wells, CA; and Kristen Nelson a Sr. Executive Assistant in Indian Wells, CA and Director of Programming at MMASC. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the ELGL Roadshow in La Quinta, California on January 25, 2018.

Clarence Anthony the CEO/Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC) joins GovLove to talk about the work of the organization and his path into elected office. Clarence ran for Mayor of South Bay, FL at the at of 24 and was elected by 33 votes. He shared the work being done at the NLC around infrastructure, smart cities and other issues facing cities both large and small.

The second in command and go-to person. Three Chiefs of Staff join GovLove to talk about the uniqueness of their job. From gatekeeper to stand in, Chiefs of Staff handle different things everyday. Samantha Harkins works for Mayor Andy Schor in Lansing, Michigan. Laura O'Sullivan works for Mayor Pete Buttigieg in South Bend, Indiana. James Hardy works for Mayor Dan Horrigan of Akron, Ohio.

Using tech and innovation to improve people's lives. Two CIOs, one city. Jose De La Cruz the Chief Innovation Officer and Craig Hopkins the Chief Information Officer from San Antonio, Texas joined the podcast to talk about how they work together to make the City better. They shared how San Antonio is approaching being a smart city, how they work with operational departments and more.

Finding a human way to talk about planning. Kyle Kingma the founder of Planning Peeps and a Planning Manager in Texas joined GovLove to talk about the memes and fun spirit behind the community for planners, by planners. Kyle discussed his path into planning as well as why he wanted to start Planning Peeps.

A very Parks & Rec episode for you. Jim O'Heir the actor that played the lovable Jerry Gergich (or is Garry?) came on GovLove to talk about the hit NBC show, his career in the entertainment industry and more. Jim sat down with co-hosts Alyssa Dinberg and Javon Davis in Kansas City, MO City Hall to give a behind the scenes look at ELGL & GovLove's favorite show.

Design thinking, pop-up coffee shops and open data in the library. Susan Brown the Director of the Chapel Hill Public Library joined GovLove to talk about running a local government library and prototyping. She also shared her Banned Books Trading Cards project, her career path into libraries and how the library engages with other local government departments in Chapel Hill. Right now at ELGL we're running a contest for the best Library in the nation. Go to ELGL.org to vote for the Leslie B. Knope Award. Topics: Lightning round (1:25), Susan's career path into public libraries (11:40), How the library works with other departments (22:15), What goes into running a library (24:00), Using user experience & design thinking (31:15), Pop-up coffee shops in the library (36:05), the Banned Books Trading Cards project (40:50), and programming and events in a library (44:50).

Using power to make a difference in people's lives. Nashville, Tennessee's first female Mayor, Megan Barry, joins GovLove to talk about her path into public service and her time as Mayor. Mayor Barry discusses inspiring women and girls to run for elected office, diversity in local government, and Nashville's vision zero efforts. Topics: Lightning round (2:55), The influence of her parents on her career (9:00), Her experience as a woman in politics (13:20), Inspiring women and girls to run for elected office (15:55), Women for Tennessee's Future (17:45), Diversity and inclusion initiatives in Nashville (22:10), Working with the Metro Council on issues like transportation, housing and MLS (25:35), Her career as a politician (37:25), Balancing work and life and the death of her son (42:30), and why she takes the bus to work (51:35).

The authors of a new book, The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak joined the podcast to talk urbanism and cities. Bruce and Jeremy share how localism isn't just local government solving problems, but bringing different stakeholders together to tackle big issues that cities face. Topics: Lightning round (1:40), Mt. Rushmore of Mayors (8:15), Writing "The New Localism" after the 2016 election & Brexit (19:20), Writing as co-authors & the aim of the book (23:30), The story of Pittsburgh & localism (36:20), Dealing with homelessness through localism (39:40), Diversity in the workforce (44:55), and The issues that need to be addressed in 2018 (51:50).

The first Smart City Coordinator for the City of Seattle, Washington, Kate Garman, joined GovLove to talk about her role and her thoughts on tech and local government. Kate revealed what a day in her job is like, what makes a city "smart" and what working in Amazon's hometown is like. She also compared working for Kansas City, MO with Seattle and her advice for those entering the profession. Topics: Lightning round (0:45), How Kate got started in local government (5:40), Her definition of a "smart" city (7:45), A day in the life of a Smart City Coordinator (9:35), Why Seattle created her position (12:40), Comparing Seattle to Kansas City (16:30), How small cities can also be smart (18:10), Kate's work on AirBnB policies in Kansas City (20:00), Thoughts on Amazon & its new headquarters search (27:05), and Kate's advice for people starting a career in local government (34:00).

Aaron Foley is an author, journalist and now the Chief Storyteller for the City of Detroit, MI. He joined GovLove to talk about his position, which was created by the Mayor last year, and the unique work he's doing as a city employee. Aaron discussed his career path in journalism, the decision to take a job in local government and the importance of telling Detroit's stories. Topics: Lightning round (2:50), Aaron's career path & influence of his parents (7:55), Standing up for Detroit after its downturn (15:15), Best books on Detroit & his mixed feelings on Detroit's comeback (20:20), Taking the Chief Storyteller job with the City (27:50), The work they did in year one (35:00), How they work with the City's communications shop (45:35), and Navigating local government bureaucracy (52:30).