Dear Mayor-Elect Kenney
Honey Mayor-Elect Kenney
Honey Mayor-Elect Kenney
Congrats. At present what? Some suggestions.
November. 18, 2015
Dearest Mayor-Elect Jim Kenney,
Outset, congratulations on a nifty victory.
Now you get to govern. And like all legislators who become chief executives, yous have to brand the move from critic to author, or from regulator to CEO. And you do so at a time when the city is filled with practiced news simply nonetheless has significant challenges.
The adept news: population growth, a downtown and well-nigh downtown neighborhood revival, and remarkable transformations around our university and medical centers. The Navy 1000 business park has exceeded the expectations of even its biggest boosters and the potential for reclaiming our waterfront and park system in new ways is only getting underway.
The challenges: legacy costs including unfunded alimony liabilities, a Republican land legislature that holds the purse strings, high poverty levels, and a shifting global economic system that demands a more educated work force than ours.
It'due south a daunting task. I would focus on 3 big goals: reducing poverty, ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability, and promoting an entrepreneurial economy. To succeed in these areas you will accept to commit to some heavy lifts, from tax and pension policy to re-thinking education policy. And you will have to think nigh the intersection of private enterprise and public purpose in new ways.
The beginning steps, of course, are building a capable team. While you are recruiting those managers I idea I would offer a few constructive suggestions.
Expand your circle, because t he people you need may not exist those you know
Those who help become you elected are not always those you need to manage the city. We come across many examples of mayors and governors who populate their administration with loyalists and entrada staff. Some of that is necessary, but the wrong people in the wrong roles can be mortiferous.
One of the hallmarks of smashing leaders is they surround themselves with bright people (who in a given field know much more than than them) and have no fear of engaging with those who come from very dissimilar backgrounds and look at problems and solutions in unlike means.
Pay particular attention to advice from those who do not need anything from yous. In fact, build a network of relationships that will give it to you lot direct and not become role of the political or glory chimera.
Implementation is policy: value neat management in a higher place policy churr
We live in an era when everyone seems to have great policy ideas. There is a policy cult that makes frequent uses of words similar "innovation" and "sustainable." They are less familiar with words or practices that have to exercise with everyday management and results. Simply nifty direction is pretty pedestrian stuff that begins with smart analysis, moves through smarter implementation, and requires accountability.
And since you come from a legislative background, you may exist a little used to thinking in terms of legislative fiat: Pass a police, and then it changes. But great policy is only as good as the ability to implement information technology, and too often the all-time ideas are transformed into yesterday's meal through deadening work rules, antiquated technology, and management systems that are ill-suited to change.
This is the problem with the metropolis'south Licenses and Inspections Department, for instance. We practise non need more commissions of inquiry. We need very high quality managers with clear performance metrics, lines of accountability, and a mandate from their boss—yous!— to demonstrate incremental and longer-term results.
At that place is a policy cult that makes frequent uses of words similar "innovation" and "sustainable." But great management is pretty pedestrian stuff that begins with smart assay, moves through smarter implementation, and requires accountability.
You lot need a vocalisation in Harrisburg; don't completely outsource it
Philadelphia mayors often made the mistake of outsourcing their Harrisburg relationships to the urban center's legislative delegation and paid lobbyists. They show up when they demand something. The biggest error that Democratic mayors make is saying flatulent things about Republican legislators. Let your Philadelphia general assembly squad and Governor Wolf take care of the theater. We hired yous to win, not to score points in the daily political game.
Allow the Republican leadership know you and learn what they need from Philadelphia's Mayor. Communicate directly with them. You lot are now running the second largest public budget in the country after the state upkeep itself. And the Philadelphia School District budget is correct behind in terms of relative size. It would be political malpractice to not have an agreement of Harrisburg and the bipartisan relationships required to succeed.
Build an action brand: take down some low hanging fruit
I remember that you were non always a fan of Mayor Street, although it sounds like that relationship has improved with time. During the first few months of his administration, Street directed the metropolis to remove thousands of abandoned cars from the street. An army of tow trucks drove from Metropolis Hall and carted them abroad. It was great theatre and it also was good civic politics. He sent a message that he was going to be the neighborhood mayor.
I do not know what bulletin you want to transport, just you would exist wise to elevate civic confidence past identifying your own abased motorcar strategy. Perchance it's your interest in providing citywide street cleaning. I tin can see it now, an army of street cleaning vehicles descending on the neighborhoods to do one big cleaning as a way to set a tone. This is a city with an incredible litter problem, so maybe yous boot off a litter campaign with a big public-private action.
Whatever it is, practice something tangible that sends a indicate that you are an action-oriented leader. Embed those early appointments, feel-practiced pronouncements, and position papers in a citywide activeness that serves the broadest possible number of Philadelphians.
Under Mayor John Street, an army of tow trucks removed abandoned cars from our streets. You can similarly elevate civic conviction. I can meet it now, a armada of street cleaning vehicles descending on the neighborhoods to do one large cleaning equally a fashion to set a tone.
Become the explainer in chief: solving tough issues requires salesmanship
Great leaders educate, listen, and ultimately sell. They are problem-solvers only non know-it-alls. You lot are going to take tough issues to overcome over the adjacent viii years including pension fund reform, tax policy changes, and education strategy. You'll no doubtfulness be improve at counting Quango votes than was your predecessor. But you lot also have to be better at selling ideas to a host of constituencies that all accept conflicting interests.
Michael Nutter was a great policy mayor merely not a very expert policy educator. He did not spend enough time speaking direct to the citizens of the urban center most why he wanted to tackle a particular event and how disquisitional it was to the metropolis's long-term fortunes. He ofttimes sounded more similar he was scolding us to get into line, rather than working with united states of america to notice solutions. At that place is a reset that has to happen.
Good luck, Mr. Mayor.
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/dear-mayor-elect-kenney/
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