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Tell us about yourself.

I am a curious listener and eager learner. I follow my curiosities into spaces that welcome people of various backgrounds and agendas, even if I do not know anyone there. I follow my hopes for grounded, values-based leadership into new conversations that become foundations for new relationships. 

What did you do and how did you identify and take advantage of the opportunity?

Following a few conversations about local preparedness for elections that led to more questions than answers, I registered to attend the International City/County Management Association’s Democracy and the Public Trust Conference in Philadelphia, PA in May. I received their communications for a couple of years and admired the way that their ethics and values came through in their work. Because the organization leads with their values, I anticipated learning values-based approaches to enhancing and supporting local democratic practices. 

ESAL had not previously attended an ICMA event, so this was our first in-person connection with the organization and its members. We had spoken countless times in workshops about how important city/county managers are to the administration of local government agencies and services. See the slide below. 

What happened? 

The conference lineup included a mix of local government staff, ICMA staff, and nonprofits, consultants, and funders who provide support to officials seeking to deepen local democratic practices and public trust. 

I learned alongside local leaders about:

• Models for fiscal transparency and neighborhood-level engagement
• Approaches to incorporating civic assemblies into local decision making
• How city managers are using social media to increase awareness of local government services and staff
• Frameworks for increasing civility between and with members of the public
• Methods for prioritizing community-guided economic development projects
• Local government responses to being targeted by federal government officials and agencies
• Ways city staff support public safety during the administration of elections

What did you learn from this experience?

Overarching takeaways included: 

• Local government managers often feel like they are overseeing the last functioning level of government. They do not have the distance from their constituents to allow partisan politics or anything else to keep them from serving the public in the best way they can.
• Many residents do not realize all that city/county managers and their staff do to keep services going, the public safe, and risks mitigated. 
• Local government staff are experiencing new and increasing threats that can make going to work more stressful and harmful than in years before. 
• Local staff often hear from the "same ten people" whose voices can appear to speak for the majority of residents. 
• Residents can support local staff by adding more voices and perspectives to local conversations. 
• Residents can also support staff by showing gratitude when services are provided and local needs are met. When I returned home from this conference, I reached out to my city manager directly for the first time. We are scheduling time to meet to get to know each other!

What can you do?

1. Take some time to learn about your city/county manager and their staff. Who are they? What is their background? And what are their responsibilities?
2. Look around your community and acknowledge what is going well and what assets you have around you. 
3. Consider reaching out to them to acknowledge a recent action they have taken, request time to meet, or offer your support in some way.