GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

Dr. Brian Williams from the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs, joins GovLove to talk about policing. From community policing to representative bureaucracy we covered it all. Dr. Williams has worked with police departments and community groups across the country to improve relations between police and communities of color.

The three GovLove hosts, Kent, Kirsten and Ben, got together to take a look back at 2016. They each picked their Top 5 episodes of the year and discussed their selections (43:50). Segments included: The most listened to episodes of the year (0:50); Three of a kind (7:20) featuring holiday movies, ELGL memories, holiday songs and books; Listener questions (22:40); Favorite iTunes reviews (28:30); Goals for 2017 (31:20); and the episode ended with "Can't Let it Go" where each host picked something they're obsessed with right now (1:14:50).

Podcast on podcasting! Kent sat down with three leaders in local government podcasting: Dana Berchman of Gilbert, AZ host of Government Gone Digital; Benjamin Brown from the North Carolina League of Municipalities, host of Municipal Equation; and Matt Horn from Geneva, NY host of 47 Castle Street. They talked about what it takes to start a podcast, why it's a valuable communications tool and more.

Earlier this month, GovLove hit the road and explored Charlotte, NC thanks to an invite to the NCLGBA Winter Conference. We used the conference as an excuse to talk to two awesome administrators working for the City of Charlotte, JL Lawrence and Rob Phocas. We talked to JL about public transit in the region and citizen engagement, then we chatted with Rob about sustainability and Charlotte's smart district.

GovLove takes a visit to the Steel City in this week's episode. We chatted with two people from the Pittsburgh, PA Office of Innovation & Performance about their open data and innovation efforts. Debra Lam, the Chief of Innovation & Performance and Laura Meixell the Analytics & Strategy Manager discussed PGH Lab, the city's Burgh's Eye View app and more.

We take a deep dive on the administrative side of elections with Tim Tsujii the Elections Director of Forsyth County, NC. We talked what it takes to prepare for an election, common misconceptions and more.

Paul Leonard the Township Manager of Upper Dublin, PA came on the podcast to talk public safety, emergency response and his favorite podcasts. Paul has been in local government for 30 years and is still an active fire fighter.

The game that launched a thousand local government careers. From future planners to city managers, SimCity inspired lots of local government leaders to pursue their chosen career. We talked with Ocean Quigley, the Creative Director at Facebook and former Creative Director at EA in charge of SimCity.

We sit down with Nick Kittle about his work with Adams County, CO on innovation and sustainability initiatives. Nick shares how he combats "energy vampires," and shares his definition of "innovation." Nick also gets real on the podcast, sharing his life experiences and how they have motivated him to serve the public and focus on his family.

We sat down with the CEO of Archive Social, Anil Chawla to talk civic technology and the GovTech Podcast. Then the tables get turned and Anil asks Kent Wyatt about the story behind ELGL and GovLove.

George Hawkins the CEO of DC Water comes on the podcast to talk about his path to local government, the innovative things the DC water system is doing and more.

The League of Women in Government is an exciting new group working to bring attention to the issue of gender equality in local government. Specifically they've focused on raising the percentage of women in chief administrative officer positions from 13 percent, the rate it was in 1984 and 2014. GovLove interviewed three leaders involved with the group who spoke at a symposium before the ICMA conference in Kansas City.

The return of Between Two Interns! For their first episode they grill Anthony Hooper, the Public Works Director of Lake Oswego, OR. Our new interns, Ashley Sonoff and Madison Thesing, are both Fellows in the Portland, OR area. For the first part of the episode we get to know them and their path to local government. Then the interns talk with Anthony about being a manager, getting creative to advance and more.

The 2016 Election season is in the home stretch with contests at every level of government. We sat down with Promise King the Executive Director of the Oregon League of Minority Voters to talk about voter turnout, issues important to minority voters and more.

On October 21st Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) held six pop-up conferences across the country involving more than 550 local government administrators. Organizers from each of the locations come on the podcast to talk about what they were inspired by and their favorite speakers and sessions.

How does blocking or muting someone on Twitter affect free speech? Angela Greben has been doing research into precisely this topic. She has been filing records requests across the country to find out who elected officials and public Twitter accounts have been muting to find out if it impacts your first amendment right.

What's it like to launch a new city website? In an interview from the 2016 ICMA Conference in Kansas City, Mike Ekey from the City of Raymore, MO and Ashley Fruechting from Vision Internet tell the story of Raymore's process and launch. From the bid process to the ribbon cutting (yes ribbon cutting of a website) Mike and Ashley give a behind the scenes look at the process.

Ron Holifield from Strategic Government Resources comes on the podcast to discuss culture and how it can impact hiring and brand perception. The interview covers everything from servant leadership to how prepared local governments are for the "silver tsunami."

We sat down with Assistant City Manager Rick Usher while we were in Kansas City, MO for the 2016 ICMA Conference. He discussed the city's new streetcar, bringing Google Fiber to the region and supporting the start-up community. Rick also shed some light on KC's ties to history and how the city has changed in his 30 year career at City Hall.

It's all dad talk in this week's episode! Four guests come on the podcast to talk about balancing being a father and working in local government. Patrick Rollens (Corvallis, OR), Ryan Adams (Irving, TX), Ben McCready (Normal, IL) and Matt Yager (Plano, TX) talk about dealing with sick kids and what workplaces can do to be more family friendly.

Live from #ICMA2016! GovLove was in Kansas City, MO for the annual conference and found some time to sit down with Amy Garmer from the Aspen Institute and the director of the Dialogue on Public Libraries. She talks how libraries are changing, "technology petting zoos" and more.

As President of The Novak Consulting Group, Julia Novak helps cities across the country with everything from executive recruitment to strategic planning. She comes on the podcast to talk the rise of incivility in government and the need to think of public service as a "barn raising" effort.

Reporting from the Michigan Municipal League conference from the top of the mitten, Bridget Doyle and Kirsten Wyatt talk about what they've learned at the conference and what they spoke on. They also end the episode with some classic jokes.

The Department of Labor released new rules for exempt and non-exempt employees. In this episode we sit down with Kristin Donald, the finance manager of Apex Park & Recreation District in Colorado, to talk about what organizations are doing to get ready.

Soofa Benches' Ed Krafcik comes on GovLove to talk about smart urban furniture appliances. Soofa creates solar powered charging stations that double as park benches. He and Kirsten also discuss smart cities and the role of technology in government.

Chris Maddox comes on the podcast to talk about local government and technology. The conversation covered everything from his career in the tech sector to engaging citizens and creating a business environment to encourage the technology industry.

Mayor Matt Surrency joins Kent to chat about local government in Florida. They discuss his decision to run for elected office and his time as President of the Florida League of Cities.

Kirsten, ELGL's Executive Director, talks with Captain Chris Hsiung from the Mountain View, CA police department about everything from affordable housing in Silicon Valley, to the challenges and opportunities of a modern police career.

Ben sits down with Kate Queram from the Greensboro News And Record to talk about media coverage of local government. Prior to her tenure covering Guilford County, NC, Ms. Queram worked as a reporter in Wilmington, NC and Madison, WI.

In this episode of GovLove, Kirsten talks with Rob Carty from ICMA, one of #ELGL16 sponsors. Learn about ICMA's work on local government management topics. Note: this episode of GovLove was taped before the announcement that ICMA has a new executive director, Mr. Marc Ott from Austin, Texas.

In this bonus episode we return to Wisconsin for an interview with the Assistant to the County Administrator of McHenry County, Jim Hurley. He and Kent talk all things communications including Jim's own dive into the world of podcasting.

So what does an innovation office do? Kirsten aims to answer just that question in this three part episode with Kate Green from Peoria, IL, Josh Edwards from Durham, NC and Sam Timko from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The three guests all share what they do each day and the goal of their organization when it comes to innovation.

Kent, Kirsten and Ben were together in Wrightsville Beach, NC and used the opportunity to talk together about Kirsten's gender discrimination tort claim notice and eventual departure from West Linn, Oregon. They talk about discrimination, the step-by-step process to stand up for yourself, and Kirsten's transition from local government practitioner to ELGL Executive Director.

What does it take to make cities more innovative and efficient? What Works Cities is an organization that strives to answer that question. Kent Wyatt sat down with Director of City Programs for What Works Cities, Zach Markovits to find out more about the organization.

In another report from Wisconsin, Kent Wyatt talks all things public administration. Joining him from Northern Illinois University, Dr. Eric Zeemering and Jon Pape talk about their experience at the school.

Deep in the heart of Texas. Kirsten Wyatt sat down with Jennifer Jones, the Deputy Director of the Texas Sunset Commission, to talk about her work improving the efficiency of State government. Their evaluation team takes a hard look at departments and programs asking the question, is this still needed?

Reporting from Wisconsin Kent Wyatt sat down with Heidi Voorhees of GovHR USA to talk about recruiting in local government. He also discussed the search for the new ICMA director.

In honor of the New Fiscal Year we have a budgeting focused episode. Participatory budgeting is one of the latest trends sweeping cities across the country, we sat down with Karen Kixmiller from the City of Greensboro, NC to talk about their experience with participatory budgeting.

To celebrate Independence Day we're sharing this interview with Josh Schoemann the County Administrator of Washington County, WI. He discussed how his experience in the military shapes his work in local government as both an administrator and elected official.

How many women lead local governments across the country? Is it still 13 percent, or is there more to the story? Kirsten Wyatt and Stacy Schweikart come on the podcast to discuss the latest ICMA data on women in the profession. Follow along with their article series at elgl.org.

This week we profile an innovative community engagement effort from the City of Charlotte, North Carolina. Sarah Hazel and Monica Holmes come on to talk about Open Streets 704, an event where they shut down the streets to cars and opened them to people.

The interns make their triumphant return! Roger Gonzalez and Mark Yager talked with Lake Oswego, OR city manager and Portland State professor, Scott Lazenby. Their conversation covered innovations in local government, getting rid of the performance review and more.

We sat down with Chad Doran the communications coordinator for Appleton, WI. Recently he started a citizens academy to help residents learn more about the operations of the city and engage with their local government. Our conversation also covered the challenges of local government communications and the best pizza in Appleton.

Across the nation communities are dealing with the issue of minimum wage, especially in cities with rising rents. Cities and counties are taking the initiative to raise their own local wage in response. For this episode we have four California local government professionals talking about what their community has done. Guests are Kimbra McCarthy from Mountain View, CA; Matt Bronson from San Mateo, CA; and Andy Agle and Gigi Decavalles from Santa Monica, CA.

Kent is joined this week by Brian Ligon from Round Rock, TX and Scott McDonell from Dane County, WI. These two are the brains behind Ron Pitchman and Chad Vader, the stars of two of the most creative local government videos we've seen. They discuss local government communication and finding creative ways to get your message out.

The Finance Directors of Milwaukie, OR and Canby, OR join Kirsten to discuss the pros and cons of annual budgeting and biennial budgeting. Casey Camors and Haley Fish share their experiences and trade jabs in this week's episode.

Clackamas County, OR Finance Director and incoming GFOA President, Marc Gonzales, joins us this week. Marc discussed everything from how he got into local government accounting to joining GFOA and seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert.

What's it like to manage a parks system for over 8.5 million people? For this week's episode we sat down with New York City Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell Silver. He's a planner with over 30 years of experience and took the helm of the big apple's parks system in 2014 after serving as the top planning official in the city of Raleigh, NC. We discuss everything from borderless parks to gentrification and Robert Moses.

This week on GovLove Kent Wyatt sits down with Josh Dukelow and Jon Stehle on what it's like to run for local elected office. Everything from dealing with the pressure of debates to endorsements and fundraising. This episode was also streamed live on Periscope back on April 26th.

This week we sit down with Professor Philip Joyce from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. He recently wrote an article for Governing Magazine on what governments at every level need to do to attract millennials to the sector. We go through his five recommendations and explore how to make those changes.