Episode 91: Municipal Community
With any profession, hobby, cause or life experience, there's community. The NC League of Municipalities itself is an expression of that, and so are the many affiliate groups and friend organizations that seek to advance focus on nuanced issues as specifically understood by, for example, municipal clerks, or local government attorneys, or budget officers, or women serving in public office, or the many other groups that represent distinct communities or expertise. These groups create important opportunities for profession-boosting, idea-sharing and individual input that can enhance group perspective. On this episode, we speak with a North Carolina mayor who was one of just a few mayors from around the world selected for a special peer group and leadership initiative. That mayor, Leonardo Williams of Durham, joins us on this episode to talk about his experience interacting with counterparts from different continents, with different forms of government and different dynamics on the ground, to see what they might have found in common and why it was worth the time. The NC League of Municipalities is a member-driven organization founded in 1908. Read more.
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Transcript
From the North Carolina League of Municipalities, this is Municipal Equation, a podcast about cities and towns. Welcome to Municipal Equation, the podcast about cities and towns from the North Carolina League of Municipalities. We're based in Raleigh. We represent more than 540 cities and towns of all different shapes and sizes across the state of North Carolina. And, of course, the ongoing idea with that is so we can put our notes and experiences and ideas together so we can move forward as one. My name is Ben Brown. I work with The League. We're here in The League's downtown Raleigh studio. And I wanted on this episode to just kinda zoom in a little bit on these different actual opportunities to work together, to come together, different organizations and affiliates and communities that serve in the spirit of betterment and awareness of different things happening in a certain field of interest like municipal government. So for example, there's the league and there are different affiliate organizations like, NC Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, the NC Association of Municipal Clerks, NC Black elected municipal officials, the NC Military Host Cities Coalition, which focuses on matters unique to cities that host military installations and bases and so on. All these different opportunities we've had here for a very long time to get involved and really keep conscious of the different angles on something as broad, but, important essentially, for example, as local government. So we've got those in place for North Carolina. And then nationally, there are plenty of opportunities, as well. For instance, the the National League of Cities, which just held its big, congressional cities conference. You get the idea. Well, occasionally, one of our folks here in municipal government in North Carolina gets, involved with or selected for a national effort, sometimes even a global effort, gaining perspective from across the world on something like, you know, serving as mayor. Like, for example, there's something called the Bloomberg Harvard Leadership Initiative and the Global Mayor's Challenge from Bloomberg Philanthropies. And that's where a group of elected officials, a small group of elected officials, mayors from different cities and states and countries all over the world are selected to take part and learn from one another, for the possibilities of improving communities and, in turn, our world overall. Well, in this last round for that global initiative was the name Leonardo Williams. He's the mayor of Durham and has been very active with the NC League of Municipalities for a long time now, but because he's one of a few from around the entire world to participate in this, the Bloomberg Harvard Leadership Initiative. I want to see how that went. How did Durham fit in with a global cities context? What was he able to bring back home from that global perspective? It seemed like a worthy thing to ask about, and we're gonna play that now, an interview I did recently with mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham. You and I talked a little while back when a a press release went out from the city of Durham. I think this might have been the in the 2024, I think. Letting people know that you, Mayor Williams, had joined the the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. There has to be a mix of of of minds and opinions and, you know, political spectrum there and all that. Could could you tell us a little bit about the the initiative, the basics of it, and how you learned about it? Because it's it's a pretty it's a pretty limited group of people who get to, participate. Right? Absolutely.
First, there's a little historical context here. Bill Bell, former mayor of Durham, the longest serving mayor in history Mhmm. Was elected at the same time as Michael Bloomberg. And there are lots of conferences that we go to together as mayors across the nation. So Michael and, mayor Bloomberg and mayor Bell are really good friends, personal friends. Whenever I see Michael, he's always like, how's Bill doing? I was like, well, he's great because I just named this renamed the street out of him Mhmm. In Durham. But, you know, as years passed, and Bloomberg has, retired, he is quite a philanthropist. He puts his money where his mouth is. And right now, he I I don't even know. We all do the mayors across the world, literally the world, we we tease about it, but we're like, how much money is he spending on us? Because he rolls out the red carpet. But that's his philosophy. His philosophy is three hundred and sixty four days out of the year, you're totally doing grunt work. At least one, we can roll out the red carpet for you, and we really appreciate that. So, mayor Scholl, was the first recipient, to truly, benefit with, you know, on behalf of the city from the Bloomberg Philanthropy, that was built with Bill Bell and Michael Bloomberg. And then, Mayor O'Neil, took advantage of it a bit. Under Mayor Scholl, we, did the Back on the Bull campaign, which was funded by Bloomberg, dollars. We did, the deer program where we re restore license, to individuals who've had their license taken away. So now, since the our history, I call it Durham a Bloomberg City. You know? We're Bloomberg City because of the amount of resources we get it. We Durham is probably, the city who's received the most awards from the Bloomberg Philanthropy Organization. From our, art or the side or the crosswalks to the deer program to the, license restoration, you know, license restoration restoration to the back on the bull campaign and many others. And we're now, again, the only city in the world that's doing the innovation track with Bloomberg two times. You're not allowed to do the same thing, twice. So the innovation track is the mayor's challenge. Come up with a cool idea to, to incorporate in your city. And I'm working on mine now, and hopefully, we'll win. We'll find out in May. Okay.
Well, do do you go to meetings in person, or is this over Zoom or a mix of both? Like, what does it look like in terms of participation?
So it comes at a cost. I I feel like I'm in law school, and you're doing that while also your workload as mayor. But in my cohort for new mayors, there are 29 of us selected out of the entire nation. And while, yes, you're going to do, like, a semester worth of law school work in a matter of a week, It is a very, very high profile selective group of individuals that well, program. And, they they have these selected individuals. I was, you know, grateful to be one of them, and it comes with lots of resources. So because I was in that program, they also sent a transition team, which were are who are grad students from Harvard, and they spend three weeks with me with you, and they provide limitless support. And I was able to not only transition into this role, but create my master plan for my tenure. And right now, that transition team is spending time what do you they just finished up, but they were spending time with, the new mayor of Raleigh, Janet Cowell, and it was a great program for her. I sort of altered the program a little bit. It was supposed to have been all about transition. I changed that around to make it about master plan, and they really they really enjoyed that. So Harvard and Bloomberg flew me up to Boston to, Cambridge, and basically, I became a guest lecturer to many classes about my engagement, with the students as a mayor and how, changing our mayors operate in in us in our council manager system. So that was, one thing. I'm also in the, that has the new mayor's program, the transition, resource. I'm also in the, the city innovation city leadership and innovation program, which are 100 mayors from around the world. And, that's, again, they fly you to New York, and you're there at Bloomberg LP for a week. And then, I'm also doing the innovation track right now with the mayor's challenge, which would be a million dollars to incorporate an idea that my office comes up with.
So what what what I mean, that that mix of people too. I wanna talk about that in a second. But, is it just, the the what you're what you're getting out of this? You know, what what's something and feel free to list a few things. But what what's something that, say, you've learned or taken away from this initiative so far? I know it's still in progress, but something you've seen or heard that's made you think, you know, okay. This is why I'm doing this. Here's a piece of knowledge that I can or a substance I can bring back to to to to Durham or yeah. What's something like that that's left an impression on you?
You know, it's amazing how borders can easily disappear with resources. I sat at the table, with Oleg Polivinski. He was on my left. Michael Bloomberg was on my right. And Oleg created a two way technology using cell phones and Apple watches. Oleg lives in Ukraine. Oleg is the one who's responsible for creating an alternative communication method for the citizens of Ukraine to outsmart Russia, and that is how they were able to survive so how they've been able to survive so long. Amazing. Because it's not on our radar. Well, Michael Bloomberg flew him to Mexico City to have dinner with us. There were 100 mayors and guests, and we were in a building built in May. It doesn't even have a roof. It's an old historic structure, and he flew in a chef from around the world in Argentina somewhere. And there was a five course mill. And I I know I'm talking about the glam, the glitz of it, but it's so much more than that. It's the sharing of culture because who also was at that table was the mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, the mayor of Accuragana, you know, Oleg himself, Michael Bloomberg himself, the mayor of Birmingham, Montgomery, yeah, Montgomery, Alabama, Steven Reed, who's the president of the African American mayor's association. And there are some other business folks, but we're just sitting there, and we're looking at each other, and we're all talking and we are sharing culture. We're sharing ideas, how we are addressing different issues in our communities and you realize that we aren't so different after all. But if, if I had to go to my, my constituency and say, hey, I wanna go and share some ideas with mayors around the world and have to pay for it out of here, then I would have some serious issues. But Michael Bloomberg removes the he removes bore, borders and barriers. He brings us together from around the world, and he allows us the innovation and resources, the space for innovation and resources to say solve the world's issues. So it's really hard to itemize because we all do so much, but the most valuable the most valuable, experience is being able to think without barriers and have the resources to make it happen. So I I'm not afraid to think big. I'm not afraid to be innovative, because of these experiences.
Well, that that I wanna stay on that for a second because, you hit a couple notes. And I and I you know, from talks you and I have had, outside of this personally, you know, I I know you have international ties. And is it often with these things, you know, these initiatives, the people who were there alongside you are important to the experience. You know, the people you share the experience with. So you're one of, I think you said just 40 mayors invited to participate in this class, and and there are people that there are and correct me if I'm wrong on that, but but, generally, you know, there are mayors from cities all over the world, officials from all over the world, different continents. 100 of those. 100. Okay. Still that's a that's a that's a, you know, pretty select group. Could you talk a little bit more about that? Like, other people you've met, how, you know, how all that fits together when there might be different styles or foundations of government, different kinds of constitutions and things like that that might, you know, create different takeaways for different people. But when you put it all together, you know, could you talk more about the benefits of that kind of thing?
Yeah. Well, let's use climate resilience and climate action. For example, I was literally on a Zoom call with the mayor of Arusha, Tanzania, and he had to get off the call because they had a storm coming through where forty three people died. And their storms are so much more aggressive than they were ten and twenty years ago. And so they are taking climate change a lot more serious than than we are here. Just like in in California, they're taking it a lot more serious than they are in Middle America. Right? So he and I were able to and we talked about, you know, maybe you should get involved with the Bloomberg Philanthropies, to get resources, there. And so he did, you know. And now, you know, the Bloomberg organization is supporting Arusha, Tanzania. Seems like they're supporting us, you know. And and I'm looking at what they're doing when it comes to climbing and some of the exercises they're doing in their government, and they're making a much more significant investment rather than either where it's like, yeah, we're trying to get there. We haven't politically gotten everyone to buy in yet, so therefore the investment isn't there. So being able to see really being able to collaborate around the world, you'll see some parts of the world are much further ahead than you are. And some are not, you know. And and being together, we get to share those ideas of where we are. You know, the, I I sat beside the when I was in New York for the, Bloomberg City, City Leadership Initiative, I'm sitting next to my, my friend who's the mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland. There was a volcano about to erupt, and here we are. We're pausing the class to support him as he's working with his constituents and leaders back home on evacuating the town, you know, parts of the town. I think that was probably the most memorable moment because there were communication tactics being shared. You know, I talked about my red alert system, and I I I'm using that now, you know, when it comes to, you know, just the immigration thing. Like, you know, just the know your rights clinics, but also being able to communicate to one another on how to respond, you know, when when, you know, maybe ICE comes about, to your to your, public spaces. And, you know, they they have the traditional horn system or siren system, but imagine being in a room with 40 mayors from around the world and you are experiencing a volcano that's erupting. And everyone pauses, and we are there to help you in triage. That's what the Bloomberg experience is for mayors.
With other mayors involved, in this initiative, they might be bringing perspective from their own localities. Is there anything maybe specific to Durham or North Carolina that that you've brought forward that might, be helpful to other people in in the way they govern?
Oh, yeah. So, funny moment. We were, we were in Bloomberg headquarters in New York, and, they were talking about, you know, just some of the grant programs and grant opportunities and, the data track and the innovation track, you know, just different tracks and, opportunities to have funding tied to them. And, you know, they were, some of the programs they were talking about, people were so excited. And it was, oh my gosh. I wanna do that. I wanna do this. I wanna do that. And that's when I realized that they when they showed the examples of cities and the three programs that they have, Durham was in every program. And we were the the the city who had received more awards than any other city in the world for Bloomberg Philanthropies. So at the end of that presentation, folks came up to me and, I was sitting next to Sherrell, the mayor of Philadelphia and Michael, Michael Johnson and mayor of Denver. And we're just talking and I looked behind me and there was a long line, like, what did you all do? How do you get so many of these awards? So it really pays to have a strong staff who can, you know, help with making a strong case in the application process for these awards. And and Durham has just been very successful at it. I I don't know if there's another city that's received more awards from Bloomberg Philanthropies in Durham.
What what what are you hoping for, above all with, with an initiative like this? You know, you you you've mentioned the time investment. You know, it's it's it's pretty substantial to to take part. But let's pretend you're you're in the future and you're looking back on this. What what do you think you could say about your your part in what's really a global initiative in public service?
Well, you know, the thing about it is, you know, Bloomberg Philanthropies is not a long term, sole investor of your policies. What they are is they're supporting you in the in the exploration, phase, and they will support you financially and resource wise. And usually, the funding comes later, but they will provide human resource. I just had the Bloomberg Philanthropies team, I'm sorry, the Harvard team here in Durham working with my staff on the innovation track for pocket, for paper streets and pocket parks. And if we win, you know, whether we win or not, we have all of these resources. Whether we win, we get a million dollars to assist with carrying out the work that we that we've done. But what I what I hope to happen is we have received all of these awards. We've conceptualized these programs that these awards supported, and now we have, you know, very robust ideas that we can invest in locally from our own tax base.
Yeah. Let let me ask you one more question because, I mean, we we've we've we've covered a lot, you know, the the and I appreciate your time with this. I I I like the takeaways of just, you know, I I I guess, you know, generally, essentially, what participation can can lead to, the appreciation you can get, but also the resources that, you know, you can find yourself, maybe in some kind of opportunity for. But, you know, like, going back to Durham and just just to say, you know, going home, what what is it that makes you wanna stay involved in in Durham specifically and, you know, see it through, in in the years ahead? Is there anything that, you know, just kinda keeps you excited about public service just looking locally in Durham?
It is. You know, Durham is a place where, we are stubborn not to be defined by our challenges, but more so our opportunities and the outcomes. We are a city that is growing at a very fast pace. We're now larger than Greensboro. We're 306,000 residents. So just the city proper. Mhmm. We are one municipality in a in a county. So, therefore, we're right at about 350,000 in Durham County total. But with that, you know, it's still a place where you can get an amazing job that pays very well and the cost of living comparatively speaking is still rather low. Yet we're so culturally attractive that major companies and institutions are making during their HQ two. And I have a personal goal to grow and build more HQs out of Durham. And so we're creating opportunities for it to be easier to grow and develop here and to and to flourish. And that's what I love most about this place. We are we're growing to be a larger city. We're now the seventy third largest city in America. We're in the top five and number one on some things, some categories, but in the top five of many. And while we have all of those things, it's still really easy to identify our challenges, but also, see our tangible, opportunities and solutions. So I I just love being in a city of growth and opportunity. Seeing able to, you know, still being able to see where we need to do better. And it would scare me if I couldn't see our challenges or if I couldn't see how to solve those challenges. But I can see it so clearly, and that's because the people were so, the people here in Durham is just they're so capable.
Well, mayor, thank you so much for your time, explaining this to us, the participation, what that means for home. And, you know, I I always have a great time when I, when I head out to Durham. I live about forty five minutes from there, so it's it's pretty easy access for me. But, yeah, you know, Golden Belt and downtown and all these different parts of Durham, just different neighborhoods. I I love to see everything thriving. I mean, it's it's really amazing what's going on out there.
More to come. You just wait. We are on the cuffs of our new, of our next renaissance. So, you know, new, instead of a convention center, more like an innovation center, you know, an opportunity for our young people to, you know, have opportunities to create a future that they that they wanna see. So using virtual reality and AI, that is assessable, you know, just more programs to support our small businesses, you know, just building reimagining how cities work. People are working from home or the human behavior has just evolved so much, and we have an opportunity. We haven't overbuilt. So we have an opportunity to build into the natural behavior of our populace, our society. I'm really excited about that. Yeah. Excited to see it.
Well, mayor Williams of Durham, appreciate your time. Thank you for coming on Municipal Equation.
Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing the episode like I listen to all the others.
Appreciate that. Thank you for hanging out with us. I wanna thank again mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham and the staff of the city of Durham for helping us arrange this. And I'd love to hear from you in the audience if you have any thoughts from the discussion today, if you're a member of an affiliate group that has any similar initiative or maybe that's, helped your perspective or has given you something that's helped you in your role. I'd love to hear about it. These episodes are not meant to be just kind of one and done. They're pieces of a greater and ongoing conversation and exploration. That's a big role for us, for this podcast in particular, to feel around the discussions and considerations of the issues that municipal governments and their communities are encountering in changing times. I'm grateful for what you do in that. You can reach out to me. My name is Ben Brown, and my email address is bbrown@nclm.org. Again, bbrown@nclm.org. NCLM stands for North Carolina League of Municipalities. Our website is nclm.0rg, and that's actually where you can find plenty of different affiliate organizations that you can contact and join up with all kinds of focus areas from municipal law to stormwater management to the special concerns for running a resort town. All kinds of focus areas you can get involved with and you can find at nclm.org under the about us tab. The League of Municipalities has been around since nineteen o eight for cities and towns of all sizes. Our slogan is working as one, advancing all. Thank you for being a part of it. I will be in touch, and I will see you on the next one. This is Ben Brown.