As he moves on from writing columns for Governing magazine, Otis White has seven big lessons for local government. One deals with the importance of maintaining a sense of humor:
Over the years, I’ve pointed out how funny (and sometimes just plain weird) these cities are. I told you about the misbehaving politicians. Examples: the “naked guy” who was elected mayor of a New York suburb, the mayor of a Los Angeles suburb who slugged an opponent on her last day in office (yes, the mayor was a woman and she apparently knew how to use her fists), the behavior problems in the Pittsburgh school system (hey, it’s just a school board meeting).
But politicians weren’t all that was funny about cities. I told you about the latest problem to plague New York: tourists who don’t know how to walk. Also from New York, there’s the pizza slice-subway fare connection. Miamians are, I learned, sometimes awakened by exploding toilets. Another bedtime tale: In San Francisco, the regional subway system is so peaceful, people fall asleep on it and wake up far, far from home. And the big problem in St. Petersburg, Fla.? The troubling shortage of beach bums.
My favorite? It’s the diary of a Los Angeles city council member published online a few years ago. If Eric Garcetti’s rambling thoughts about his multiethnic district — and his own zoom-zoom place in it — don’t leave you amused, then, as Dr. Johnson might say, you’ve grown tired of life itself.
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