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Milwaukee, WI Mayor Cavalier Johnson won reelection in 2024 with 80 percent of the vote. "Those are Vladimir Putin levels," joked Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt.

"The difference is, Putin's still looking for the other 20 percent!" said host and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter.

Asked why he decided to devote his life to public service, Johnson said, "I fell in love with helping people in my ...

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-Fo...

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 ...

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...

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 &hell...

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 ag...

Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt convened podcast co-hosts former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for a special episode about recent crises plaguing the leaders of prominent cities.

"We are in a constitutional crisis," Platt said. "You have federal troops — masked law enforcement — doing these surges. The question is: Who's in charge?"

"Folks sho...

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 new friend from the Citizen's recent Ideas We Should Steal Festival. 

Matthew Tuerk is a wicked skater. He's a punk-rocking tattoo connoisseur. He's a marathoner, and the popular second-term mayor of Allentown, PA who has made it his mission t...

As mayor of Baltimore and then governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley used transparency and statistics to drive his city and state forward into the Information Age. And then he  — literally — wrote the book on the subject. 

His conclusion after more than a decade in public office? "We live in a time of enormous opportunity," O'Malley said on the latest episode of How To Really Run A C...

This special episode was recorded live at The Philadelphia Citizen's eighth annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. Our hosts, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Citizen Media Group President and CEO Larry Platt were joined on stage by a return guest, five-term Rochester Hills, Michigan Mayor Bryan Barnett, a Republican.

Barnett is...

"I don't care if you live in urban America or rural America, everyone wants the same thing," Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said on the latest episode of How To Really Run A City. "They want a job they can get to in 15 minutes, they want a hospital or pharmacy within 15 minutes, they want a park or a grocery store or bars or restaurants, all within 15 minutes."

Bibb went on to explain to our hosts, former Phi...

On this episode of How To Really Run A City, innovation in cities takes a backseat to a more pressing question: How do we find our way back to recognizing the humanity in one another?

Our guest: Joe Walsh, a former Representative from Illinois. He was a self-described Tea Party arsonist, right-wing radio provocateur and mentor to Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. All of that changed when Donald Trump rode ...

When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan took office in 2013, his city had just filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. 

Today, business is booming, crime has fallen to a 60-year low and it's no understatement to say that Detroit is back.

Mayor Duggan, now running for governor of his state as an Independent, joins former Mayors Michael Nutter and Kasim Reed, along with Citi...

When Denver, Colorado Mayor Mike Johnston isn't sparring with congressional Republicans over immigration (and being threatened with jail time), he's pushing his city to eliminate homelessness, continuing his crusade for high-quality, affordable education and inspiring Denverites to give five hours of volunteer service each month.

"I love the Give5 Mile High program," said Citizen co-founder Larry Platt. "...

"Just keep doing the next right thing, even though it's hard."

This mantra has become a political north star for Scranton mayor and recurring How To Really Run A City guest (and sometimes host), Paige Cognetti. She knows that what drives a city forward is everyone doing their parts at all levels.

"It's the colleges and universities," former Mayor Michael Nutter interjects. "It's the corporate ...

The AI revolution is upon us, and it will certainly have an impact on local governance.

"Let's have an open conversation about its use," says this week's podcast guest, Rochelle Haynes, Managing Director of Bloomberg Philanthropies' What Works Cities initiative at Results for America. 

Haynes, who previously served as Chief of Staff at New York City's Department of Homeless Services, saw ...

While Washington implodes and other cities resist, Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson is moving ahead with an ambitious tech agenda — and battling youth homelessness in her city.

"I feel positive about the direction California is taking," says Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, our guest this week on How To Really Run A City. In the wake of reduced support from Washington, D.C., she opti...

"Traditional license plate readers were developed in the 1950s and 60s," says this week's guest, Garrett Langley of Flock Safety. "But you can go into Flock and say I'm looking for a black Sedan with after-market tires and a dent on the left corner, and we will find that car."

Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, chat with Langle...

Donald Trump's tariff policies pose an economic threat to Rochester Hills, Michigan — and Republican Mayor Bryan Barnett has not been shy about speaking out.

"More robots are made in my city than in any other city in North America," Barnett told Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, in the latest episode of the podcast. "Our two bi...