\n<\/p>\n
It is no ordinary time to lead a city. Budgets are in flux. Divisions are deepening. Political violence and misinformation are growing concerns. And as President Trump aggressively pursues his agenda, national politics are becoming an inescapable reality in city halls.<\/p>\n
The New York Times sat down last month with 16 mayors at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Tampa, Fla. We asked them many of the same questions. Their answers revealed deep, bipartisan uncertainty over federal funding and concerns about rising incivility. Mayors of some of the nation’s largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles, did not attend.<\/p>\n
Some Republican mayors spoke hopefully about this new Trump era. Many others, especially Democrats, who hold the majority of big-city mayoral jobs, voiced alarm about how the administration\u2019s policies were playing out.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we heard.<\/p>\n
Americans have been telling their mayors that they are worried about everyday costs and struggling to afford a place to live.<\/p>\n
With home prices rising and supply limited, several mayors said they were trying to build more units and meet demand. It was a challenge playing out in nearly every city, with young professionals struggling to buy their first houses and growing homeless populations straining city services.<\/p>\n
They described spending significant time outside the office worrying about local and national problems. As the mayor of Noblesville, Ind., put it: \u201cMy job is not nine to five. I\u2019m mayor regardless of where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some described the fear of receiving a phone call with news of another shooting. Others spoke about wanting to fix endemic issues like homelessness and drug addiction.<\/p>\n
With the Trump administration seeking to rapidly overhaul parts of the federal government, mayors from both parties described uncertainty over the fate of federal grants and other programs that Republicans in Washington have targeted.<\/p>\n
Many Democrats said they had strong relationships with former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s staff members and had not yet built those same connections with Mr. Trump\u2019s team. Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, whose city has been singled out for criticism by Mr. Trump, said that \u201cthe very basic fundamental rights of our democracy are under siege.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some Republicans described optimism about working with the new president, and not all of them had seen major changes. Mayor D.C. Reeves of Pensacola, Fla., said that \u201cit\u2019s probably too early to say that there\u2019s a distinct difference.\u201d Mayor Acquanetta Warren of Fontana, Calif., said it was \u201cnot at all\u201d different. \u201cWe work with anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Several mayors said they had taken additional steps to ensure their safety since the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband in June and other recent attacks. But political violence, many of them noted, was not new. Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, a Democrat, pointed to the attempted assassination of Representative Gabby Giffords in her city in 2011.<\/p>\n
And Mayor Indya Kincannon of Knoxville, a Democrat, said she had been inside a local church with her young daughters when a gunman opened fire in 2008, killing two people, in an attack linked to hatred of liberals and gay people. She remembered escaping with her daughters. \u201cI picked them up and left as soon as the gunman was tackled,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult time for people in public office, and when we see the tragedy that just happened in Minnesota, you always have to wonder, you know, am I next?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But what I can say is with the political violence that has been promulgating, there\u2019s no place for it.\u201d
\u201cI have. I would say in light of recent violence, I\u2019m much more aware of my surroundings and also those of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those of us who are elected officials, it is an uneasy time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a former police chief and spending 40 years in law enforcement, I\u2019m keenly aware of the fact that there\u2019s always a potential for a threat of violence against you, but it doesn\u2019t mean that we\u2019re always constantly aware of that threat. But I have become much more alert as of late in terms of my surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that we\u2019ve done immediately was to take more precautions within City Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t made changes to how I interact with my community, but I will admit that my stress and anxiety level is up a little bit higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing permanent yet, but I\u2019m certainly watching it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayors from both parties called on the federal government to overhaul the nation\u2019s immigration laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou couldn\u2019t talk to a mayor who doesn\u2019t want immigration reform,\u201d said Mayor Kathy Sheehan of Albany, a Democrat. \u201cWe want Washington to fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as the Trump administration works to increase deportations and remove legal status for some immigrants, mayors said that some in their cities were living in constant fear of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a local therapist approach me and ask, \u2018Hey, would you go on Facebook and do a live therapy session to talk about what it\u2019s like to be a leader during Covid?\u2019 Of course, my initial answer was, \u2018Absolutely not, I don\u2019t want to go share my emotions with my community.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I ended up relenting and doing it. It was one of the best things I ever did. It was literally an hourlong therapy session talking about my feelings, about being a leader during such an uncertain time. That project has morphed into, now, a monthly program called \u2018Mental Health Monday.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe have now comforted a community and a city and shown that it\u2019s OK to not be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, the biggest challenge in our city is homelessness. That\u2019s what our public is looking to see us resolve, so we\u2019re on steroids doing that. We just bought a hotel last year, which allows us to put people off the street in an environment where they can get major assistance to transform their lives.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019ve planted more than 150,000 trees in the last six years. We created a heat tree map where we take a look at the areas of our city that have less canopy. Because trees are a nature-based solution to heat and climate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, despite high interest rates and high inflation, we permitted about 8,800 new homes in my city, more than double what we\u2019ve been doing historically. The reforms that we\u2019re putting in place to make it possible to build more homes for less and to build them faster is working.\u201d<\/p>\n
We spoke to the mayors before Congress passed Mr. Trump\u2019s sweeping domestic policy bill. They told us they had spent months bracing for severe cuts to federal funding for local programs, though many of their worst-case fears had not materialized at that point.<\/p>\n
Some described the pausing of grants while the Trump administration re-evaluated previously approved projects, leaving cities in limbo. In places where the local economy is highly dependent on international trade, mayors voiced concern about the uncertainty around tariffs.<\/p>\n
Both Republicans and Democrats said the depth of the country\u2019s political divisions had become even more clear in recent months. Some Democrats said they were still processing Mr. Trump\u2019s return to power and what it means for the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Many mayors were eager to plug local craft breweries. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann of Columbia gave a shout-out to the Kentucky distillery that he cofounded. Others preferred a particular soft drink.<\/p>\n
They boasted about a Friday night fish fry in Milwaukee, fish tacos in San Diego and Mexican food in Fresno and Fontana. Knoxville\u2019s mayor suggested \u201cmeat and three,\u201d the local term for meat and three side dishes, while Pensacola\u2019s mayor highlighted his city\u2019s seafood.<\/p>\n
Two mayors shared different theories on hot dogs. And two Midwestern mayors boasted about their pork tenderloins.<\/p>\n
When asked about the best book they had read recently, mayors shared a range of fiction and nonfiction titles.<\/p>\n
Mayor Alyia Gaskins of Alexandria said much of her reading time was spent with her young children, who enjoy \u201cLittle Blue Truck\u201d and \u201cGoodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.\u201d The mayors of Fontana, Knoxville and San Diego all\u00a0praised \u201cAbundance\u201d by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne Blood\u201d by John M. Perkins<\/p>\n
\u201cA Gentleman in Moscow\u201d by Amor Towles<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wisdom Pattern\u201d by Richard Rohr<\/p>\n
\u201cA Land Remembered\u201d by Patrick D. Smith. \u201cIt\u2019s a novel, but it\u2019s kind of on the history of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocking Up Our Own\u201d by James Forman Jr. \u201cI recommend that people across America take a look at it, particularly at a time in which the carceral state is something that\u2019s being enacted, especially by this federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRockets\u2019 Red Glare\u201d by William Webster and Dick Lochte<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 1619 Project\u201d by Nikole Hannah-Jones, who is from Waterloo. Also \u201cAnesa, No Skola Today\u201d by Anesa Kajtazovic, a children\u2019s book about growing up during the Bosnian War.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Circle Maker\u201d by Mark Batterson. \u201cIt\u2019s all about big prayers, big bold ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA Little Life\u201d by Hanya Yanagihara. \u201cProbably the saddest book I\u2019ve ever read, but it was really, really, really well written and wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Teenage Brain\u201d by Dr. Frances E. Jensen. \u201cThat really has helped me understand my teenagers and why they do the things they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Leadership\u201d by Tony Blair. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly thought provoking as a leader. I probably should have read it at the beginning of my administration, but I\u2019ve learned quite a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>I\u2019m reading it right now: \u2018A Promised Land\u2019 by Barack Obama. I\u2019m a little behind because I\u2019m mayor and I\u2019ve got three kids, but I\u2019m making up for it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Across party lines, mayors spoke about frightening political divisions, seemingly intractable problems and serious fears about the future. But most also voiced optimism about the country, drawing hope from America\u2019s history and especially from the people they meet in their own cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is no ordinary time to lead a city. Budgets are in flux. Divisions are deepening. Political violence and misinformation are growing concerns. And as President Trump aggressively pursues his agenda, national politics are becoming an inescapable reality in city halls. The New York Times sat down last month with 16 mayors at a meeting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1485,2458,2642,81,811],"class_list":{"0":"post-9952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-city","9":"tag-mayors","10":"tag-run","11":"tag-trump","12":"tag-u-s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Finally, we wanted to know what gave mayors hope for the United States.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n