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Nashville, TN Mayor Freddie O'Connell was compelled to run for office on a simple principle. For too long, transit and infrastructure had been neglected by city officials. Upon winning his race in 2023, O'Connell's north star has been making it easier for Nashvillians to get around their city.
"I don't know of a greater transit evangelist among the mayor fraternity than Mayor O'Connell," said Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt on this week's episode.
"My mom remembers a Nashville that still had streetcar lines," O'Connell told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And then we ripped that all out. If you look at our old streetcar maps, we had a good transit system. I ran [for mayor] because I felt like we had priorities as a city that simply were not going to get addressed unless I forced the issue."
Join us for a discussion during this year's Infrastructure Week centered on a blue city in a red state pulling every lever to reestablish customer-focused government and "trying every day to showcase that we've made the right choices" in infrastructure investment.
But Mayor O'Connell isn't all work and no play down there in Nashville. He also moonlights as DJ Stay (he chose this nom de vinyl because "I want you to stay" in Nashville).
"Our man says he's on the ones and twos," laughed Nutter, who knows a few things himself about spinning records.
"I didn't have this on the bingo card for today," Reed said with a grin. 
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As cities go, so goes the nation!

When Republican Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indianapolis, IN, he ran his city by "devolving" decisions down to the grassroots level. He created partnerships with the movers and shakers of local areas – community-based organizations, small businesses, faith leaders — to decide together how best to spend money in their neighborhoods.
"Government had neglected those neighborhoods," he told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And no amount of expenditures would have been sufficient if we couldn't lift up the civic infrastructure of the neighborhoods themselves."
This, said Goldsmith, who was a deputy mayor under Mike Bloomberg in New York and is now a professor of urban policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School, is the true power of mayors: the ability to convene and inspire a city to greatness. Despite the circus coming from Washington, D.C., Goldsmith told our hosts that he has great hope for cities. "This is the time to be mayor, because if you want to lead, you can really make a difference."
Goldsmith also garnered some unexpected praise from our hosts. "I was struck by your book, Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work through Grassroots Citizenship," Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt told him. "I remember thinking it was a model for cities to follow."
"This is exciting," Goldsmith replied, "You're one of five people who read that book. What sort of life do you live?"
"We're working on it, Mayor Goldsmith," laughed Nutter and Reed. "We're trying to help him!"
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. And watch for new episodes on YouTube and Piksel+ as they become available.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

One of our favorite sayings here at How to Really Run a City is that there are really three political parties in the U.S.: Democrats, Republicans and Mayors — and only one of them have no choice but to be practical problem solvers. We believe if more politicians acted like mayors, there'd be much less bickering in D.C.
Turns out, Bloomberg Philanthropies agrees. For the past six years, the civic-minded global organization has held the  Mayors Challenge, a competition that awards cities $1 million prizes to spur innovative solutions to ingrained urban problems.
This week, Challenge leader Aparna Ramanan and Challenge grantee, Lafayette, LA Mayor Monique Blanco Boulet, join former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt for an eye-opening conversation about what it takes to innovate in a city. (Lafayette's problem might sound familiarly stinky to Philadelphians: old, failing, sewers.)
Blanco Boulet believes true innovation must start with a change of mindset. "Critical thinking is just not natural in government. If I don't know where we're having flood issues, I could just choose anywhere [to put the money]. That happens. That's not abnormal for government in the absence of real decision-making."
Join us for an episode about cities tackling entrenched problems and the public-private partnerships like Bloomberg Philanthropies that support them. 
When it comes to facing these intractable issues, as Nutter said, "You have to deal with the consequences of not."
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As cities go, so goes the nation!

Michael Smerconish is a Sirius XM and CNN host, a prolific political commentator, a nationally recognized author — and leader of the fight for a political center in the U.S., which means having a robust media.
"I think the press is being hollowed out," said former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. Local outlets are disappearing, the press is "functionally gutted; there's no longer a paper on your porch … and there's been a conservative effort to buy up local media because [it] still has credibility with folks."
Smerconish is also an activist for voters who refuse to align with either of the two major parties. "I became so disenchanted with the Bush administration (W.) for their inability to go kill bin Laden," he said. He then swam against the tide of his own listener base by announcing his support for Barack Obama's presidential run in 2008.
"How do you feel about that vote today?" asked former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
"Oh my god, I feel great about it," Smerconish said. "[My listeners] went crazy, but it was a breaking point and a wake-up call for me."
Join us for a thoroughly entertaining and important conversation about what local leaders and citizens alike can do to break through the partisanship of the moment and start meeting each other on neutral ground.
"Use the remote, mix it up," Smerconish said. "Don't rely on [others] to do it — do it yourself."
Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes and watch the video on YouTube.
As cities go, so goes the nation!

On this episode, our hosts, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, invite onto the show a guest well-known to our mayors.  
Jannet Walker-Ford is a nationally recognized transportation expert who worked on the recently released Special Event Transportation — Guidance and Opportunities Playbook (SetGo) to help transit agencies navigate "mega-events" like the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the many semiquincentennial celebrations across the country.
"How do you use these events for engines of future growth?" asked Platt.
"It's part of our playbook," she said. "We want to sustain those collaborations and relationships, as well as changes in infrastructure, processing and procedures. [And] really pulling in stakeholders — that's the important piece."
Another piece that's important: Everyday residents who still need to get to work or open their businesses despite large-scale disruptions. "You've got to be thinking about them and engaging the community so they survive the event," Walker-Ford said.
"You're in a unique position," Reed responded, "who do you see out here getting things right?"
Walker-Ford named former guest Mayor Karen Bass in Los Angeles, Seattle and Salt Lake City, Mayor Quinton Lucas in Kansas City — and even Philadelphia and SEPTA. "Getting stakeholders on the same page … can be tough," Nutter said.
"It's great in our speeches, though!" Reed laughed. "It makes us sound super innovative."
Join us for a timely conversation about how the United States needs to prepare for this blockbuster year when millions of visitors and celebrants will enter our cities and transportation systems.
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As cities go, so goes the nation!