Obama Team Announces Office of Urban Policy
While candidate Obama might have chosen to emphasize his mother from Kansas rather than his own urban pedigree (Honolulu, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Chicago and Cambridge often went unmentioned in his speeches), President Obama is signaling that he intends to take urban issues seriously. One of his closest advisers from Chicago, Valerie Jarrett, told a group of African-American columnists on Monday that Obama will create an office of urban policy in the White House.
“Because he began as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, he understands at the local level is really where you can impact change and that local government can play a vital role as we try to jump start our economy,” she said.
Pretty soon, I’m sure, names of good candidates for the position will be floated. Off the top of my head I can think of several attractive potential candidates. (There a plenty of qualified candidates, so the names I’m about to throw, in bold, should not be taken as a snub to all those I fail to mention.)
After a long, notorious history of corruption and incompetence in the local government, D.C. has begun to see some improvements under the leadership of its last mayor, Anthony Williams, and its current one, Adrian Fenty. Given that D.C. has no governor, congressmen or senators, these guys have nowhere to go up other than a federal appointment. But while transit-oriented development and other good things have happened in D.C. in recent years, they still can’t seem to get my street plowed when it snows, so maybe Williams and Fenty aren’t the best beacons of competence. Maybe that’s just because of the budget constraints D.C. suffers under the hand of federal misrule. Certainly a former mayor of D.C. could be an advocate for giving D.C. more fair treatment – maybe even a vote in Congress! – in this position.
But if it’s managerial competence you want, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York has it in spades. There’s no question New York has thrived under some trying circumstances. Giving him a major appointment would burnish Obama’s bi-partisan credentials, since Bloomberg is an independent former Republican. And it would give Bloomberg something to do other than run for a third term and spend his opponent under the table.
Paris Glendenning, the former governor of Maryland, is a leading smart growth advocate with plenty of executive experience. Recently, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has begun to speak out on transportation policy, and he comes from an urban, crime-fighting, background, having been a popular Philadelphia mayor and district attorney.
But, if the massive of influx of Chicagoans, led by David Axelrod, Jarrett and Rahm Emmanuel is any guide, Obama will just go ahead and offer the job to Richard Daley.
Ben Adler reports on Republican and conservative politics and media for The Nation as a Contributing Writer. He previously covered national politics and policy as a staffer at Newsweek, Politico and the Center for American Progress. Ben also writes regularly about urban and environmental policy, and he was a 2008-2009 urban leaders fellow at Next American City.
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wildmother on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 12:57am
Yep, Urban Policy is Important. However, President Elect Obama, remember you were elected by the citizen and often City Government is very good at squeezing out the citizen. I hope your Urban Policy gives the average citizen more leverage in the running, planing and zoning of their cities. Cities are an ideal place to practice more democracy as they are small enough to allow individual participation to be written into procedure. Unfortunately , some cities are also often run by unsavory types that fail to
serve the good of the people. We all know stories of notorious mayors and city council flim flam.
i hope a loud creative wave of participation in civic life is inspired by the recent election and the old quasi- gang land ways of so many city politicians fall away by the rise of citizen zeal and a new imagination for our great cities.
Philadelphia
Brian in Indiana, PA on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 3:46pm
It’s been some time since the federal government took urban issues seriously. There is so much leadership to be heaved around on crucial issues that have real significance in the structure of our society and the direction we head in regards to transportation policy to economic policy. I think it’s about time.
AJ Fish in San Francisco on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 5:09pm
I am mixed on this. Under the neglect of the last eight years as well as rising gas prices, cities have been forced to become more autonomous and not rely on the federal government so much. Cities are leading the way, I’d hate for a well-intentioned administration to meddle. Remember urban renewal?
John Reinhardt in Washington DC on Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 4:39pm
@ AJFish - I think the intention of this office is to facilitate connections (like those between Transportation and Housing) rather than to be a stand-alone agency, though I could be wrong.
I think there will always be a bit of a tension between federal leadership and city leadership. For example, in sustanability and climate change - cities are certainly leading the way on what they can implement (i.e. urban design, building codes, open space planning, etc.). However, it would be great for the federal government to be able to take a lead on issues such as automobile efficiency standards - that directly impact cities and help them reach their stated climate change goals.
Many of the larger cities have effectively by-passed national leadership and are now part of an international community, participating on a worldwide stage. The benefits and drawbacks of this can be debated.
Stella in Washington, DC on Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 3:27pm
What about Bruce Katz? A lot of people I know consider his appointment to this post to be a foregone conclusion. Compare the policy platform of the Metro program at Brookings to the one Obama has presented for this office. They’re virtually identical…because Katz wrote them both. Just a thought!
And congrats on the fellowship by the way. As a Washingtonian, NAC subscriber and urban enthusiast, I look forward to reading your insights.
Julie in NYC on Tue, Dec 09, 2008 at 8:09pm
Fantastic idea. And if I were a headhunter searching for a qualified candidate to head up the urban affairs office, I’d certainly be very interested in Newark, NJ mayor, Corey Booker.