Ground Floor Government

City clerks are often seen as formal and distant, yet behind those desks are leaders transforming their communities. Hugh Plappert sits down with Dayna Williams-Hunter to explore her unexpected path from entrepreneurship and drone photography to public service. ㅤ Dayna shares how one conversation led her to run for city clerk and discover her calling in local government. She talks about bringing...

A law enforcement career can teach powerful lessons about leadership, accountability, and service. For Hugh Plappert ’s guest, Dr. Jonathan Flores , those lessons shaped a 22-year journey from police communications to major crimes investigator and ultimately city manager. ㅤ In this conversation, Dr. Flores shares how his early experience at the McAllen Police Department and his faith-led approach...

Being involved in local city government can take many paths. Hugh Plappert talks with Dana Healy of Tightrope Media Systems about her journey from video production to serving the government as a vendor. Dana shares how a high school class accident sparked her passion for video and how that path led to managing television stations, working with nine cities, and eventually supporting accessibility f...

Life can throw some wrenches into a career. Hugh Plappert sits down with William Whitson to unfold an interesting career path from Washington DC and the U S E P A to city manager and long-term recovery. The conversation moves through hurricanes back to back, an intergovernmental response to Katrina, Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas, COVID, and flash flooding after the 4th of July. Listeners hea...

Host Hugh Plappert welcomes Mayra Rios from Brownsville, Texas, a community thriving with growth, culture, and collaboration across borders. As the City Secretary, Mayra shares how Brownsville connects tourism, business, and innovation—from its relationship with Mexico to its partnership with SpaceX’s new city, Starbase. ㅤ She reflects on her path from teaching to law and city administration, rev...

“Don’t assume that just because it’s government, it’s boring.” With Hugh Plappert and Aileen Dickson , the path runs from television marketing to a city clerk’s office where elections, records, and public access shape every decision. Aileen traces a move from one computer per department and photocopied council packets to digital operations, Open Troy, and careful exploration of AI for searches. Sh...

Young, elected, and showing up. Host Hugh Plappert sits down with Dominik Bronakowski , the elected City Clerk of Des Plaines, sworn in at 24 and proud to be the youngest elected citywide official in Des Plaines history. Dominik shares how wearing many hats opened doors, from working full-time in the Illinois State legislature on constituent services and outreach to evenings and weekends in the cl...

How do you turn unexpected opportunities into a lasting career of service? On this episode of Ground Floor Government , host Hugh Plappert speaks with Vanessa Joseph , elected City Clerk for the City of North Miami and practicing immigration attorney. ㅤ Vanessa shares her journey as the daughter of Haitian immigrants, her initial plan to return to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, and how her pass...

Changes are challenging. They can make you or break you. They can throw you into an emotional turmoil, and they are important to understand as you develop your career in local government. In this conversation, Hugh Clapper sits down with Shirley Foxx-Knowles , City Clerk of Tampa, to talk about navigating political, system, and career changes. ㅤ Shirley shares her journey from 16 years in corpora...

On this episode of Ground Floor Government , host David Plappert sits down with Deborah Sorensen , City Secretary of Rowlett, Texas. Deborah shares how rules, laws, and codes shape what cities can and cannot do, highlighting the importance of the Open Meetings Act, the Public Information Act, and election laws. ㅤ She describes the Action Center in Rowlett, a one stop shop for citizens who need he...

A pothole crew, a dump truck, a radio system, a streetlight on every corner. Behind each visible service sits an army that buys, maintains, measures, and pays for it. In this conversation, Hugh Plappert speaks with Mark Funkhouser , who connects the nuts and bolts of procurement, budgeting, and performance auditing to parks, safety, clean water, and trash pickup. He shares a Kansas City story wher...

Welcome to Ground Floor Government with David Plappert . In this conversation, Rheanna Ollis shares how a political science path turned into community relations, starting as an unpaid intern, jumping into billing and collections, becoming the first coordinator, and stepping into division head at 23. She talks about juggling social media, uploading city council meetings, a weekly City Council Diges...

Joseph Lewin , producer of Ground Floor Government , sits down with David Plappert , the regular host of the show, for a special behind-the-scenes conversation about what it really takes to get PhoneLive running. Many communities struggle to connect with the 20% of people who cannot access livestreams due to broadband barriers. David explains how PhoneLive bridges that gap by integrating seamlessl...

An estimated 10% of U.S. households lack broadband, and as many as 20% of constituents are unable to access city council, school board, and other public meetings online. In this conversation, David Plappert is joined by producer and guest host Joseph Lewin to explore why live streaming alone leaves too many people out and how phone access bridges the gap. They discuss the limitations of current so...

Local government meetings shape communities, but for one in five Americans, participation is out of reach. In this first episode of Ground Floor Government , producer Joseph Lewin hosts a conversation with David Plappert about why access to city meetings matters and who is being left out. They uncover overlooked groups struggling to connect, including households without broadband, elderly resident...

Local government is often seen as big ideas, policies, and elected officials making decisions. But the reality runs deeper. It depends on the quiet leadership behind the scenes—those who publish agendas, keep records, manage calm amid chaos, and lead teams to keep the public informed. David Plappert , host of Ground Floor Government, highlights the essential roles of city and county clerks, city m...