Republicans loudly complain about problems in their neighbor's front yard, while not doing anything about problems in their own yard. Great as a campaigning strategy, not so much for governance.
Hi Pete: A better argument is in California. Looking at the 11 largest cities (four of which Fresno, Anaheim, Bakersfield, and Stockton aren't on the list), the only cities with Republican mayors (Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton) have by far the highest murder rates (10.2, 11, and 15 per 100,000 residents, respectively). These are also the cities with some of the greatest poverty and quality of life challenges in the state. The cities run by democrats, not only all have lower murder rates, but some have among the lowest rates for major cities in the US.
I was thinking about this issue in another way last week, but thinking about the governance in small towns, which tend overwhelmingly to be run by Republican mayors. The conditions in some of the towns I work with is shocking. In one - literally every building on its historic main street business block has been either demolished or in some state of collapse.
But I don't blame these mayors either as most of the problems they experience, as is true for the major Democrat led cities, generally aren't attributable to factors in their control (i.e., deindustrialization, opioid epidemic, etc.).
Another reader emailed me directly to bring up another counterargument. They mentioned the severe fiscal challenges in Democratic-run cities, starting with Chicago. That's a warranted critique. But I also think it's due to factors out of local control (declining tax bases, rising cost for social services, etc.) and stem from inaction from the state and federal levels.
Hi Pete: A better argument is in California. Looking at the 11 largest cities (four of which Fresno, Anaheim, Bakersfield, and Stockton aren't on the list), the only cities with Republican mayors (Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton) have by far the highest murder rates (10.2, 11, and 15 per 100,000 residents, respectively). These are also the cities with some of the greatest poverty and quality of life challenges in the state. The cities run by democrats, not only all have lower murder rates, but some have among the lowest rates for major cities in the US.
I was thinking about this issue in another way last week, but thinking about the governance in small towns, which tend overwhelmingly to be run by Republican mayors. The conditions in some of the towns I work with is shocking. In one - literally every building on its historic main street business block has been either demolished or in some state of collapse.
But I don't blame these mayors either as most of the problems they experience, as is true for the major Democrat led cities, generally aren't attributable to factors in their control (i.e., deindustrialization, opioid epidemic, etc.).
Another reader emailed me directly to bring up another counterargument. They mentioned the severe fiscal challenges in Democratic-run cities, starting with Chicago. That's a warranted critique. But I also think it's due to factors out of local control (declining tax bases, rising cost for social services, etc.) and stem from inaction from the state and federal levels.