GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

We talk running for City Council with Sara Eskrich, Alder for District 13 of Madison, WI, and Hannah Lebovits, candidate for University Heights, OH City Council. They discuss why they wanted to run for office, the challenges they have faced as women candidates and what they hope to accomplish. Sara shares her experience knocking on doors in a snow storm and Hannah talks about campaigning with her...

Chris Hamilton joins GovLove to talk all about car-free transportation, planning and paradise. Chris is the Car-Free Key West program manager and former Transportation Bureau Chief for Commuter Services in Arlington County, VA. He shares how small investments in marketing can impact transportation use, the value of bike share and more.

The Intern Files is back, this time Madison Thesing interviews Michael Lawson from the City of Aurora, Colorado. Michael leads the city's special projects office and he discussed how Aurora is taking a new approach to hiring, on-boarding and culture. The "Shift" program started in August 2015 and its goal is to help Aurora attract the next generation of local government leaders.

This week we get an international perspective on public service from Indonesia and Singapore. Shaffira Gayatri and Jerry Lewis Ong are two Legislative Process and Governance Professional Fellows visiting the United States, and specifically Guilford County, NC. The program they are a part of is a partnership between ICMA and the U.S. State Department and allows fellows to spend four weeks in a loca...

Ferki Ferati & Ben Speggan join GovLove to talk about their work with the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Jefferson Society has been active in creating civic dialogue, exposing residents and leaders to issues and work going on in the city as well as promoting pride in their home town of Erie.

The latest Intern Files is back to discuss the ICMA local government fellow experience and getting started in a local government career. Madison Thesing is joined by David Nash-Hernandez, Eli Ritchie, Hunter Harris, Micah Phillips, Maia Knox & Craig Dudek. The six guests shared what they learned in their fellowship.

Figuring out the best way to get residents involved and participating in local government has been a hot topic in cities across the country. Matthew Crozier from Bang the Table has been doing engagement work around the world and came on GovLove to discuss best practices, how cities can do better and more.

Lauren Lockwood, the Chief Digital Officer for Boston, MA joined GovLove to talk about technology, communications and bringing new thinking to local government. She discussed redesigning the city's website and holding government to the same standard as the private sector when it comes to digital engagement.

Kathy Nyland the Director of the Seattle, WA department of neighborhoods joined GovLove to talk about rethinking neighborhood engagement. With the goal of getting more people involved her department is working to find new ways to engage residents of the city. Kathy also shares her path to local government, which started as an overly involved resident and led to her current appointment.

Stephen Goldsmith, Director of the Innovations Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the former Mayor of Indianapolis, IN joins GovLove to talk about data, innovation and more. He compared his role as Mayor with being Deputy Mayor at New York City, discusses social media in government and the work of Data-Smart Cities Solutions.

Justin Marlowe from the University of Washington Evans School & Alicia Shatteman from Northern Illinois University join GovLove to discuss what they see as the trending topics in local government. From technology to communication and the use of the M-word Justin & Alicia share what they are seeing from their MPA students.

Chris Morrill, the City Manager of Roanoke, VA for one more day, joins GovLove to talk about his next career step. He discussed his career, which included a stint in the Peace Corps and consulting in South Africa, and how hard it was to make the choice to become the next Executive Director of GFOA. He discusses managing Roanoke through the Great Recession and how the city worked to revitalize its...

The CEO of the American Water Works Association, David LaFrance joins the podcast to talk about his work with the professional association, the challenges to Water service, Flint and more. David also discusses his career path, which includes a stint as the Finance Director at Denver Water.

Welcome to the first episode of GovLove International! In this new monthly series we'll interview a local government professional from outside the US. This month John sat down with Gord Hume a speaker and advisor on local government in Canada. Gord is a former city councilor of London, Canada and has written several books on local government. In this interview he discusses his latest book, "The Le...

Jane Brautigam the City Manager of Boulder, CO joined GovLove to talk about her career path and making the leap from law to management. She also shared her perspective on diversity in local government, affordable housing in Boulder and dealing with prairie dogs. Jane has been the City Manager of Boulder since 2008 and prior to that was the manager of Dublin, OH, Loveland, CO and was an attorney fo...

The Manager of North Carolina's largest county joins GovLove to discuss her career path, building trust in government, communications and more. Dena Diorio has lead Mecklenburg County since 2014 and came to the south after starting her career in New York City and two cities in Connecticut.

Chris Reykdal is a graduate of the North Carolina MPA program, former teacher and the new superintendent of public instruction for the State of Washington. Kirsten talks with Chris about his career path, how his public administration background helps him in his new position and why local government practitioners should think about running for office.

The latest installment of the Intern Files features the president! Lee Feldman, the City Manager of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, is the current president of ICMA. Madison asked him about his career path, his plans for his presidency and advice for someone new the profession.

The City of Peoria, IL and the City of Vancouver, WA squared off last week in the championship round of the ELGL City Hall Challenge. This March Madness style bracket asked cities from across the country to compete for the best City Hall in the nation. Kent chatted with the two finalists right before the contest closed about what they learned, how they got the word out and more. The guests were St...

The career ladder is becoming more of a career jungle gym, there's no one path to leadership in local government. To talk about a couple of non-traditional career paths Kirsten chatted with Amber Mathiesen, City Manager of Mt. Angel, OR, and AJ Fawver, Planning Director of Amarillo, TX. They shared how their backgrounds in records and planning prepared them for leadership positions.

Dan Biles, the Deputy County Manager of Jefferson County, Alabama, joined GovLove to talk about his career path, perspective on leadership and rebuilding infrastructure after a municipal bankruptcy. We discussed his jump from the private sector to government and how he models the behavior he wants to see in his employees - like leaving at 1:00 pm. Dan also shared how his military experience shaped...

Cari Anne Cashon, entrepreneur and author, joined GovLove to talk about her passion for public service. She talked with Kent about her interest in local government, volunteering and You Go Girl her book that aims to inspire girls to pursue their dreams.

Coming to Charlottesville, VA in April is the Hometown Summit, a celebration of small and mid-sized cities across the country. The summit is a convention and celebration of leaders who have spearheaded some of the nation's most creative and successful campaigns for community change. To learn more about it and get the inside scoop GovLove chatted with one of the organizers, Carolyn Zelikow from the...

What's it like managing a community with a theme? Marvin Collins, the City Manager of historic colonial Williamsburg, VA, and Joel Walinski, the City Manager of the Bavarian themed Leavenworth, WA, join GovLove to talk about the unique challenges of managing a city with a theme. From code that requires use from the 1700s to reworking the McDonald's logo to make it Bavarian, they cover it all.

Dan Ralley the Assistant City Manager of Upper Arlington, OH and Carl Anderson from ViewPoint Solutions joined GovLove to talk about how to better serve residents in permitting. They discuss Upper Arlington's approach to e-permitting and how it put customer service first.