GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

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).

Leading Kansas City. Troy Schulte, the City Manager of Kansas City, MO, joined GovLove to talk about leading an organization of 4,400 employees. He discussed the City's bond program, using performance and data in local government, and the Royals World Series chances. He also talked about the challenges Kansas City faces and investing in the future. Topics: Lightning round (0:25), Troy's career path in local government (10:20), Starting a performance office in Kansas City (15:55), The City's bond program (19:20), Using data in local government (23:20), His favorite part of his job (25:35), The challenges Kansas City faces (30:05), Importance of transportation (32:40), and The Kansas City Royals victory parade (35:35).

We take the last episode of the year to recognize our favorite episodes and interviews of 2017. GovLove hosts Kent Wyatt, Kirsten Wyatt and Ben Kittelson all handed out awards in different categories to their 15 favorite episodes. The episode also covered the most listened to episodes of the year and plans for 2018. Topics: 2017 recap (1:05), Most listened to episodes (4:05), Segments! Best gifts & funniest ELGL thing in 2017 (7:55), The GovieLovie Awards (16:30), Looking ahead to 2018 (1:00:20), and Can't let it go (1:06:00). Awards: Tee Hee: #155 Practical Innovation in Syracuse & Anchorage with Sam Edelstein & Brendan Babb Data Download: #135 Harnessing the Power of Data with Leigh Tami, Cincinnati, OH 5 O'Clock Somewhere: #140 Mayor Levar Stoney, Richmond, VA Sticky: #160 Serving with Your Whole Heart in Little Rock, Arkansas with Melissa Bridges & Susan Langley Mind Opener: #104 Empathy & Disruption in City Management with Kelly McAdoo Tag Team: #147 Local Government Law: Are You Tweeting Into Trouble? With Dan Bolin & Julie Tappendorf Hire Me Now: #122 Broadening Neighborhood Engagement in Seattle, WA with Kathy Nyland Unexpected Magic: #154 Battling Homelessness in San Rafael, CA with Andrew Henning Knope of the Year: #143 Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Hamilton County, OH Brought Me To Tears: #158 Managing Crisis in Gatlinburg, TN with City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle Dream Come True: #167 The New Urban Crisis with Richard Florida Innovation, Baby! #105 The Wellbeing Initiative with Julie Rusk, Santa Monica, CA Wonk: #162 Behavioral Insights & Benchmarking in Scottsdale, AZ with Brent Stockwell Elephant in the Room: #132 Race & Diversity in the Planning Profession with Giovania Tiarachristie I want you back again: #119 GFOA's New Executive Director, Chris Morrill

Creating spaces for people. Two representatives from the Project for Public Spaces, Laura Torchio and Elka Gotfryd, joined the podcast to talk about how to shape and influences places. They discussed projects that they have worked on across the country, how engagement is important to placemaking and tools for people that want to do placemaking. Topics include: Lightning round (1:20), How Laura & Elka got into placemaking (6:45), The work of Project for Public Spaces (12:55), Their definition of placemaking (15:05), Example projects (17:50), Importance of engagement & whether placemaking leads to gentrification (29:20), Examples of placemaking in small towns & rural areas (35:40), and Tools for placemaking (40:20).

The acclaimed writer, urbanist and best selling author, Richard Florida joins the podcast to discuss his new book and the challenges cities face. Richard is a professor and Director of Cities for the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, his most recent book "The New Urban Crisis" deals with the increases in inequality and segregation cities have experienced. He discusses the book, his love of Jimi Hendrix and the three T's of technology, talent and tolerance.

Improving collaboration and innovation in local government. Ellory Monks from The Atlas and Kip Harkness, the Deputy City Manager of San Jose, CA, join GovLove to talk about their work. The Atlas is a marketplace for local governments to work together and learn from each other on infrastructure projects. Kip leads the Office of Civic Innovation in San Jose. They discuss everything from juggling fire and celebrity look-a-likes to improving procurement and email management. Topics Include: Lightning round (3:40), background from Ellory on The Atlas and how it was formed (12:25), what Kip learned working for PayPal (16:00), what Kip thinks innovation is (17:20), creating a place to fail forward (21:00), how Atlas and San Jose worked together (23:55), the office of innovation in San Jose (33:10), and what Kip and Ellory look for when they're hiring (43:20).

Paying for the service outcome rather than the cost of implementation. Brian Beachkofski from Third Sector Capital Partners joins GovLove to talk about a new contracting model called Pay for Success contracting. He shares examples of local governments using the model and how it can be more effective in delivering services to people. Topics: Lightning round (1:10), introducing the Pay for Success concept (3:25), examples of organizations like Los Angeles County using this model (4:40), the role of Third Sector in the process & implementing it in an organization (7:45), using data to make decisions (14:25), getting organization buy-in (19:50), and working with different levels of government (28:50).

Managing in a consolidated city and county government. Jestin Johnson, the Assistant Manager of Athens-Clarke County, GA consolidated government, joins the podcast to talk about his career path and management philosophy. He shared his strong opinions on parking, being a player-coach type of manager and how important town-gown relations are in Athens. Topics: Lightning round (0:30), Jestin's career background (4:45), what it's like working for a consolidated city-county government (10:50), skills it takes to manage very different job types (16:15), the Athens-Clarke County innovation ambassador program (18:55), working for a college town and town-gown relations (21:40), lessons from his career and Jestin's management style (24:10), and working in consulting (29:45). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Recruiting & retaining talent in local government. Heidi Voorhees, the President of GovHR USA, joined GovLove to talk about the work of finding and attracting talented local government employees. Heidi discussed her experience as a Management Fellow in Kansas City, MO with current fellows Javon & Alyssa. She also talked about the importance of LinkedIn and the drawback of residency requirements. Topics: Lightning round (0:35), Heidi's experience as a Kansas City Management Fellow (3:30), what drew her to human resources (5:45), tech in human resources (7:00), recruiting & retaining the next generation (8:55), GovHR USA's work (10:55), the challenge of finding and attracting talent (14:50), and her LinkedIn tips (22:25). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Brent Stockwell, Assistant City Manager of Scottsdale, AZ, joined GovLove to discuss his work on performance measurement, behavioral insights and his favorite color. Brent described how Scottsdale is taking a new approach to simplifying city reports. He also shared his thoughts on diversity in local government and how tourism has shaped Scottsdale. Topics: Lightning round (1:20), using behavioral insights in Scottsdale (7:40), simplifying reports & communication (19:00), managing tourism (25:15), his work on benchmarking (29:55), his thoughts on diversity in local government (38:20), and how he got into local government (43:35). This interview was recorded from the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

What startups and local government can do to work better together. Barry Greenfield the Co-Founder of GovLaunch, a platform for local governments to compare and review technology solutions. Barry discusses his career path, which includes a stint as an elected official, and what local governments and startups can learn from each other. Topics: Lightning round (0:45), why Barry ran for local office (3:00), how local government can better engage (4:00), the mission of GovLaunch (7:00), what cities and startups can learn from each other (13:10), and how the procurement and RFP process can be improved (16:40). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Innovation, performance and public service in Little Rock. Two people from the City of Little Rock, AR join GovLove to talk about their work. Melissa Bridges, Performance & Innovation Coordinator, and Susan Langley, City Clerk, discuss the Commodores, their career paths and a cross-departmental quality of life group. Topics: Lighting round (2:30), how children impacted their careers (7:45), challenges and innovations in Little Rock (10:20), communicating to the public (19:25), what they want to bring to Little Rock (23:00), thoughts on public service and balancing work and life (26:35). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Get to know the City Manager of Decatur, Georgia. Peggy Merriss joins GovLove to discuss her career in local government, which includes 24 years as City Manager and stints in leadership positions with ICMA. She talked about the projects going on in Decatur, her experience as a woman in local government and more. Topics: Lightning round (0:50), Peggy's career background (1:45), road diets (4:30), what keeps her in Decatur and how it's changed during her career (6:40), her time as ICMA's first female president (12:30), the importance of local government (18:05), top speakers at ICMA (21:00), and advice to someone starting their career in local government (25:00). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Forest fire and emergency response. Cindy Cameron Ogle the City Manager of Gatlinburg, Tennessee joins GovLove to discuss what it was like to manage the city through a forest fire that destroyed 2500 buildings last year. She shared her experience dealing with the crisis and how both her home and the Mayor's home were lost in the fire. Cindy also discussed her leadership style and her path to becoming a City Manager. Topics: Lighting round (1:10), Cindy's path into local government and becoming a City Manager (3:30), the experience of the 2016 wildfires in Gatlinburg (8:15), losing her home in the fire and supporting employees (17:50), and rebuilding after the fire (27:40). This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Leading Gahanna, Ohio and improving processes. City Administrator Jennifer Teal joins GovLove to discuss how she's used her black belt in Lean Six Sigma to improve operations and the unique way they taught residents to use roundabouts. Jennifer also shared her experience as a female City Administrator and how she balances her work and life. Topics: Lightning round (1:30) including her celebrity look alike and top four mentors and concerts attended. Jennifer's career path and her experience being a woman in local government leadership (5:05), what she looks for when hiring (7:40), the issues she deals with in her job (8:45) like infrastructure, growth and personnel issues. Her work using Lean Six Sigma principles and changing culture to challenge the way things have been done (14:20). Teaching residents about roundabouts (25:25). Her thoughts on diversity in local government and supporting families in the workplace (29:35). This interview was recorded from the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

From City Manager of Austin, Texas to leading ICMA, get to know Marc Ott. The Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Marc Ott, joined GovLove to discuss his career path in local government and his first year on the job at ICMA. Marc also shared his thoughts on diversity in local government as well as the importance of cities in the age of ineffective federal and state governments. Topics include: Lightning round (0:50) including what book he's reading & his role model. What got Marc into local government (6:20), his time at the City of Austin, TX (11:50), his role with ICMA (23:50) including his thoughts on diversity, reflections on his first year and comparing being a City Manager with being Executive Director. Working with strong mayor cities and the National League of Cities (37:15) and the importance of local government (40:15). This interview was recorded from the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Open data and innovation from coast to coast. Brendan Babb, the Chief Innovation Officer of Anchorage, Alaska and Sam Edelstein, the Chief Data Officer of Syracuse, New York join GovLove. They answered questions from our listeners, talked about how innovation doesn't have to be fancy and the role of an innovation office in a city.

Local solutions to homelessness and practicing radical empathy. Andrew Hening the Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach for the City of San Rafael, California joins GovLove to discuss his work reducing the homeless population in Silicon Valley. He also discussed his career path into local government, from law school to Americorps Vista. Andrew Hening took the #1 spot in this year's ELGL Traeger List of local government influencers. This episode was hosted by Javon Davis and Alyssa Dinberg, two Cookingham-Noll Management Fellows in Kansas City, MO.

He started as a management assistant and now he's the Director of Economic and Property Development for the City of Long Beach, California, get to know John Keisler. John was also the innovation team director in Long Beach. In this episode Kent talks with John about his career path, role models and his definition of innovation.

An international perspective on reporting and government. We're joined by a columnist and foreign correspondent during his recent trip to Kettering, Ohio. Ian Birrell a contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday and writer for several papers in London, England talked about his work as an international reporter and adviser for speech writing and crisis management. This episode was guest hosted by Stacy Schweikhart.

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida on September 10 but the preparation to weather the major storm started well before then. Dan Biles, the County Manager of Pasco County, FL joins the podcast to discuss all the work that went into preparing for Hurricane Irma and what they have left to do now. He also shared the key role social media played in the County's communications strategy before, during and after the storm.

How cities will be adjusting to automated vehicles and e-commerce. Dr. Ben Clark & Dr. Nico Larco from the University of Oregon join the podcast to discuss the impact of driverless cars and online shopping. Local governments will be adjusting through their tax and revenue policies, land use and more. These changes are already here, many brick and mortar retail stores are closing and Uber and Lyft are impacting how the public uses streets and parking.

Career day with the County Manager of Ellis County, Kansas. To celebrate the start of the new school year we have an interview between second grader Eleanor Wyatt and Phil Smith-Hanes, the County Manager of Ellis County, KS. They discuss his career path, what he likes about his job and the differences between a county and a city.

Film permits, building applications and more. Dale Fisseler, the City Manger of Waco, Texas, joins GovLove to talk about his career and managing a college town. He also discussed the impact of the TV show Fixer Upper on the city's planning and inspections department, as well as his journey from the water department to the city manager's office.