When David Jenkins, La Plata, Maryland Town Council member, attended the Local-Motive session “Parsing Through Your Local Budget to Find Some Real Answers”—co-presented by Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and Michel Durand-Wood, author of the Dear Winnipeg blog—he left with a new mission: to take a hard look at his own city’s finances. Inspired by the session, David worked directly with Michel, who helped him build spreadsheets, translate Canadian concepts to the American context, and uncover critical insights about La Plata’s fiscal health.
David, a longtime Strong Towns member and leader of Strong Towns Charles County, has been working to shift the conversation in his community. He’s passionate about helping residents and local leaders understand the Growth Ponzi Scheme, the illusion of wealth in suburban expansion, and what truly makes a city financially resilient.
In this episode, one local leader took action—armed with spreadsheets, Strong Towns principles, and expert guidance—to challenge the status quo and advocate for a stronger La Plata.
📌 Links referenced in this episode:
🎙️ David’s full podcast episode on La Plata’s finances: Watch here
📊 The Local-Motive session that inspired him: Parsing Through Your Local Budget
💰 The Strong Towns campaign for transparent local accounting: Learn more
🏘️ Get involved in the Strong Towns Local Conversations program: Sign up here
📖 Michel Durand-Wood’s new book on municipal finances: You’ll Pay for This
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.