Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Forget about grand plans for education or the details of zoning reform \u2014 the Covid-19 pandemic ruined just about everything for America\u2019s mayors.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re frustrated by crime, labor shortages, housing and how to maintain basic city services two years into a marathon public health crisis. And the partisan rancor that has gripped national politics can make their jobs even more difficult.<\/p>\n
Those are some of the key findings of The Fifty survey of America\u2019s mayors, local leaders who told POLITICO what their cities want and need, and what it\u2019s like doing their jobs in these unprecedented and unpredictable times. \u201cCovid-19 [had] the effect of pouring a 55-gallon barrel on a roaring fire,\u201d said Dan Pope, the Republican mayor of Lubbock, Texas. \u201cAll initiatives took a back seat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty-five mayors, representing deep-red pockets of the South to liberal flagships in the West, participated in the survey, which was conducted between late December and mid-January. Their answers reveal how the pandemic forced mayors into crisis mode, first to deal with the pandemic, and now with its lingering effects: a sharp rise in homelessness and food insecurity, prolonged remote learning, demands for mental health resources and a litany of economic woes.<\/p>\n
A bipartisan gripe focused on state governments \u2014 particularly legislatures \u2014 interfering with how cities spend their money, a long-running tension magnified by the huge influx of federal pandemic relief dollars and, in some places, a spike in budget surpluses. Many said they would rather see the federal government wire money directly to local governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must also increase direct distribution of federal funds to cities, and remove states as the middlemen,\u201d said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat. \u201cMayors understand what it means to be accountable and are focused on action, making us the ideal stewards of federal investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly two years after Covid-19 sent leaders at all levels of government into emergency mode, mayors are still juggling their ambitions with urgent needs like protecting residents\u2019 health, keeping hungry families fed and keeping basic city services running.<\/p>\n
Mayors are making headway in getting their economies and their big projects back on track. But each pandemic wave brings renewed challenges. Mayors opened up about what plans are still paused as the public health crisis continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cControl of our finances.\u201d \u2014 Pat Furey, Torrence, Calif.<\/p>\n
\u201cReducing violent crime. We have seen staggering increases in violent crime in Kansas City \u2014 last year, there were nearly 8,000 incidents of violent crime (a 10% increase from the previous year). And for each incident, there are ripples throughout our community that harm all of us.\u201d \u2014 Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to pause on some of our infrastructure spending, but that has come back and has increased to record high levels. Now our biggest issue is workforce.\u201d \u2014 Thomas Henry, Fort Wayne, Ind.<\/p>\n
\u201cImproving career opportunities and job quality for our tourism-based industry and cultural economy. We have been continuing to support these workers and culture bearers throughout these difficult times, but a larger conversation about what these jobs provide (or don’t provide) was overshadowed by the need to focus on survival of our people, businesses, and traditions.\u201d \u2014 LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans, La.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe continued improvement of instruction in our schools.\u201d \u2014 Jon Mitchell, New Bedford, Mass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were on the cusp of a major investment to redevelop our waterfront and bring Major League Soccer to Sacramento. Both were delayed indefinitely.\u201d \u2014 Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento.<\/p>\n
\u201cPassing a local minimum wage.\u201d \u2014 Greg Fischer, Louisville, Ky.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just the pandemic anymore. Mayors are losing sleep over everything from crime to jobs to fears of a crumbling republic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe possibility of our democracy failing.\u201d \u2014 Aaron Brockett, Boulder, Colo.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do we prioritize the calls to [simultaneously] address Covid-19\u02bcs health and economic impacts, affordable housing and homelessness, climate change and environment, systemic racism and increasing violent crimes, and the expected wave of mental and behavioral health needs we expect in the month to come? As a city, we have finite resources to address this broad variety of essential needs.\u201d \u2014 Victoria Woodards, Tacoma, Wash.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of help from the federal government and state to address the intractable nature of addiction, homelessness and the mental health crisis.\u201d \u2014 Joseph Petty, Worcester, Mass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk of significant changes in our local economy.\u201d \u2014 Christina Marie Muryn, Findlay, Ohio<\/p>\n
Cities were struggling to maintain or expand affordable housing options before the pandemic rattled the economy, and the challenge has only worsened over the past two years, particularly as eviction moratoriums are lifted and rents climb. Those costs are also a big contributor to rising inflation<\/a>. Mayors were explicit about how serious the problem is: Nineteen out of the 25 mayors who responded said their cities are experiencing a housing crisis.<\/p>\n They also have plenty of ideas about what\u2019s needed from the federal government, nonprofits and the private sector to help provide more Americans with a safe, affordable place to live.<\/p>\n \u201cThe issue needs to be addressed both within and without the geographic boundaries of cities. The responsibility needs to be shared in the wealthy surrounding communities who largely favor single family homes and exclusionary zoning process.\u201d \u2014 Joseph Petty, Worcester, Mass.<\/p>\n \u201cThe affordable housing crisis is best regarded as a subset of the broader challenge of housing undersupply. Cities can play a key role in addressing this priority by encouraging transit-oriented development in compact, walkable areas. \u2026 Forward-looking planning and zoning are powerful, effective tools for fostering housing growth, especially when paired with inclusionary affordable housing requirements.\u201d \u2014 Noam Bramson, New Rochelle, N.Y.<\/p>\n \u201cLeverage existing assets. Like many older cities, Kansas City has a variety of vacant or underutilized properties right in our urban core. We have been exploring strategies to return the value of these resources to our residents \u2014 from targeted infrastructure development, to redevelopment of vacant and abandoned lots, and converting hotel rooms to emergency and transitional housing.\u201d \u2014 Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n \u201cOur affordable housing is not safe and is owned by absent landlords. New housing being built is not affordable for all. Our biggest issue with the housing first model is we don’t have enough housing.\u201d \u2014 Thomas Henry, Fort Wayne, Ind.<\/p>\n \u201cIncreasing wages for our current workforce increases affordability too, and we cannot forget the importance of a living wage on the housing crisis.\u201d \u2014 LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans<\/p>\n \u201cHotels-to-housing has been very effective in Phoenix. In partnership with U.S. VETS, the city purchased a former hotel which has now been refurbished and provides housing, food, and services to formerly homeless military veterans. The city also partnered with a local nonprofit to create Haven House \u2014 hotel rooms that were made available to seniors facing housing insecurity.\u201d \u2014 Kate Gallego, Phoenix<\/p>\n \u201c[W]hat cities need most is an engaged and committed federal partner. Adjusted for inflation, the City of Philadelphia spends 80% more on non-homeless affordable housing than it did in 1980. The federal government provides us 73% less funding than it did in 1980. \u2026 Local governments can and do create initiatives tailored to their specific needs. And those programs make a real difference. But we need a federal partner too.\u201d \u2014 Jim Kenney, Philadelphia<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is really what will other communities do to increase affordable housing. The cities already have the highest concentration of affordable housing, and thus the highest concentration of generational poverty. Generational poverty leads to crime and violence and trauma. \u2026 Full neighborhood developments with amenities and services and transportation to employment should be built in the suburbs and rural areas where kids can experience fields and trees, and not be stacked on top of each other. \u2026 Continuing to concentrate low-income individuals into the already most densely populated areas is a sure formula for failure.\u201d \u2014 Michael Helfrich, York, Pa.<\/p>\n A third of the mayors who responded to POLITICO\u2019s survey volunteered that shootings or violent crime among their top concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pandemic \u2014 alongside its isolation and economic challenges \u2014 spurred a spike in homicides and violent crime in many cities across the country. Gun violence in particular dominated local discourse<\/a> last year from city halls to campaign trails.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite literally, it\u02bcs the gunshots that my son and I hear when we go to bed. I am the first mayor in two decades to be born, raised, and still live on the North side of the City of St. Louis, where decades of intentional, racialized disinvestment allowed the drivers of crime \u2014 poverty, housing instability, and the like \u2014 to fester.\u201d \u2014 Tishaura Jones, St. Louis<\/p>\n \u201cI worry that our most vulnerable young people, flooded with easy access to guns and without direction or hope, will continue to shoot and kill each other in sickening numbers.\u201d \u2014 Tim Kelly, Chattanooga, Tenn.<\/p>\n \u201cLouisville, like many cities across the country, is experiencing an unacceptable increase in gun violence, a challenge we\u02bcre addressing with a whole-of-government approach that goes beyond law enforcement to include community mobilization, prevention, intervention, organizational change & development, and reentry. We are investing in each area and quadrupling our investment in violence prevention to address the root causes of violence and create opportunities for everyone to reach their full potential.\u201d \u2014 Greg Fischer, Louisville, Ky.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen staggering increases in violent crime in Kansas City \u2014 last year, there were nearly 8,000 incidents of violent crime (a 10% increase from the previous year). … Addressing the violence requires better public safety tools and tactics to diffuse heated circumstances and build community trust.\u201d \u2014 Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n Many mayors want to be left alone.<\/p>\n Across the map, city leaders told POLITICO they know what\u2019s best for their communities and that they want to cut some of the strings attached to state and federal aid.<\/p>\n Some mayors lauded their states\u2019 governors. Some decried their legislatures, who they accused of preempting local priorities, handing down unfunded mandates or governing more by politics than science during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Others, like Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, cited the influx of federal aid as a boon for their communities. And some even asked for more, particularly when it comes to infrastructure investments.<\/p>\nWhat can cities do to help create more affordable housing?<\/h5>\n
What’s the biggest issue we didn’t ask about?<\/h4>\n
Gunfire keeps mayors up at night.<\/h5>\n
And mayors have put curbing gun violence high on their agendas.<\/h5>\n
Thanks for the cash. Now butt out.<\/h4>\n