by Jeremy Loudenback What is the role of universities in promoting a civic identity? For years, the academy has been held up as an important vessel of democratic ideas and practices, inspiring and instructing generations of young minds about the virtues of engagement and the participatory process. For students involved in Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback In the lightning-fast world of social media, being able to respond to a crisis quickly, decisively, and thoughtfully is an essential skill for public officials and leaders. The bumbling reactions of former Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting and the post-oil Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Worst in Governance Until a couple of weeks ago, Hillary Clinton’s path to the White House in 2016 was considered a fait accompli, lacking only a formal announcement of her candidacy and a ticket to Philadelphia. But with recent revelations about her use of a private email account Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Government hasn’t always had a model relationship with technology, but the use of open data and other forward-thinking initiatives are helping to make governments more transparent than ever before. Across the country, cities are using new website interfaces to help constituents gain easier access to Read more…
by Raphael Bostic When we started the Bedrosian Center Best and Worst in Governance feature, our goal was to highlight what’s going on in the field. And while we thought that instances of poor governance would provide clear teaching moments, we thought it was equally important to give a shout out Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback January 2015 Worst in Governance That the United States is increasingly riven by strong partisan divisions is not exactly news in 2015. But the recent controversy around House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress establishes sets a Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback January 2015 Best in Governance “Politics stops at the water’s edge” was the latter-day foreign-policy vision of Arthur Vandenberg, a one-time isolationist Republican senator from Michigan who fiercely opposed Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal policies. However, in the wake of World War II, Vandenberg’s work with President Harry Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback December 2014 Worst in Governance The end of the year is usually a prosperous and celebratory time for Hollywood. That’s when studios unveil eagerly awaited blockbusters and critically acclaimed movies. Millions flock to theaters during the holiday season. But this year, box-office receipts and award nominations took a Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback December 2014 Best in Governance Isolation is not working. In the 55 years since the Cuban Revolution, relations between the United States and Cuba have remained frozen in time, much like the 1950s-era vintage cars that still sputter around the streets of Havana. Despite the fact that the Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Worst in Governance Missouri Governor Jay Nixon That courts in Ferguson, MO, and New York failed to indict police officers in the recent deaths of two unarmed African-American men was sadly a surprise to very few. The last few months have shown that the list of unarmed Black men Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board In October of last year, Maryland was poised to roll out its health insurance exchange as part of the implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hopes were high that the state would be able to serve the almost Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback On the eve of another election in America, we would like to take a minute to highlight the importance of voting access. So for our October Best and Worst in Governance, we call attention to those states who are moving forward with good ideas to bring more of Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Civic participation efforts in Hong Kong and Scotland Scotland is usually overshadowed by England, its more prominent neighbor in the United Kingdom (U.K.). But last month, the land of bagpipes, unicorns, and the Loch Ness monster captured the world’s attention as it considered a Read more…
by Justine Dodgen Last week, thousands of Hong Kong students began protesting Beijing’s recent decision to place limitations on the selection of candidates for Hong Kong’s 2017 Chief Executive election. On August 31, Beijing announced that it will only allow politicians who have been approved by a pro-Beijing nominating committee to Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Los Angeles Unified School District An evidence-based approach to policy-making is a hallmark of good governance. By tying decision-making to what has been proven to work—rather than past precedents or sheer political considerations—leaders are more likely to meet the needs of their constituencies. In Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Bill de Blasio In July, a shocking video clip surfaced on the Internet that showed New York Police Department (NYPD) personnel brutally subduing a Staten Island African-American man and choking him to death. The disturbing footage from a bystander’s cell phone revealed police using Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York Release of the drone memo As the Obama administration has expanded the scope of its worldwide drone war campaign to include American citizens, information about the drone strikes, including the targeting process and legal Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Seattle Mayor Ed Murray The issue of a minimum wage increase has received outsize attention in the past year. Conversations about widening inequality and persistent poverty have yielded momentum around an issue that has received popular support as well as backing from leaders like New York City Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Adam Silver Last week National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver came out with a decisive decision in response to odious remarks from Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. In response to tape-recorded comments from Sterling released by the gossip website TMZ, Silver threw Read more…
by Jeremy Loudenback Best in Governance Mayor Lucy Lou The Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, is not one to let sleeping dogs lie. Mayor Lucy Lou would rather go for a game of fetch or better yet greet visitors to the tiny unincorporated community on the Ohio River close to the Read more…
Best in Governance Edward Snowden, Barack Obama, and the NSA Reforms A year ago, Edward Snowden was little known outside the shadowy world of national security. But since the one-time contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton leaked shocking and costly revelations about the government, Patriot Act sanctioned, involvement in spying on its citizens and Read more…
Best in Governance California Governor Brown Earlier this month, Gov. Brown’s State of the State speech served as another exclamation point on his superb track record in bringing California back from an abyss of budgetary woes and legislative gridlock during his second go-round as governor of the Golden State. Since his Read more…
Best in Governance Speaker of the House John Boehner In February, the sweetest sound heard in Washington D.C. was a sigh of relief after Congress came to an unusually speedy agreement on the federal borrowing limit and averted a possible default. The surprising avoidance of expected partisan bickering was accomplished Read more…
by Raphael Bostic I am continually struck by how little governance issues are discussed as governance issues. Sure, the scandal or problem of the moment is given lots of attention, but the focus never seems to make it to how good governance is achieved and how we can effectively apply the Read more…