Bell was the headline in California for months. Local government hawks and reporters still drool over a good Robert Rizzo headline. However, there’s more to local government than what goes wrong. The thousands of daily victories conceived and executed by California’s cities, counties, and special districts often go unsung, unappreciated, but not undeserving of recognition.
That’s why, in the wake of the Bell scandal, the League of California Cities began highlighting the strength of the state’s 482 cities in its Strong Cities Strong State campaign, designed to highlight some of what makes California local government so great.
Along with the League’s partner, the California City Management Foundation, Strong Cities Strong State has highlighted nearly 100 cities since last August. The goal is to cover successes that have happened in every city in 18 months.
From the Capitol Weekly:
As scandals tarring officials at the city of Bell began emerging in newspaper probes two years ago, municipal authorities across California felt the fallout. A suspicious public wondered whether Bell’s problems – pension boosting, voter fraud, expense abuse, salary spiking – had seeped into other cities as well.
“After the Bell experience, we realized how quickly one actor in one city could create the false impression about what city government is like,” said Chris McKenzie of the League of California Cities, which represents almost all of the state’s 482 cities.
Read the full article here.