True transparency in government is something commonly strived toward, yet rarely accomplished. It is a desirable characteristic as it keeps government officials honest and open about their intentions. For these reasons, politicians at all levels tend to work pieces about administrative transparency into the focus areas of their campaigns.
Although I have only been at my placement for 3 weeks now, I can tell that transparency is an important aspect of governance for both the Mayor and Detroit’s residents. I’ve attached a photo of the front doors to the Mayor’s office, which are transparent and activated automatically by a motion sensor. While it is undoubtedly cheesy, I think that these features speak to the Mayor’s dedication to transparency. Over the past 3 weeks I have come to notice many things about Detroit government and the Mayor, however the most striking thing I have come to learn is how much of the Mayor’s time is dedicated to meeting with community leaders, both those in official positions and those operating purely on their own volition.
When I first learned how many staff worked under the Mayor, I had assumed that only once a problem is vetted by some of his staff would the Mayor directly address an issue to community members, however I soon came to learn that this is not the case. While a large part of interaction with the community comes from the Department of Neighborhoods, the District Managers, etc., I was happy to learn how much the Mayor cares about the needs and concerns of the community.
Most days I will notice a group of people I haven’t seen before and soon come to learn that they are neighborhood leaders, concerned community members, or other individuals invested in Detroit and wanting to express their wants or concerns to the Mayor. While this is surely important for any great city, I feel that this is especially important for a community that has watched an economic downturn and lived experienced the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The communities know what they need and it seems as though the City is now willing to hear them out.
Wow that was cheesy gabe. But its amazing how much your learning about the governments work. And its super cool to see how invested the mayor seems to be in the community, and how much he is willing to put into making detroit a better place. You keep trucking gabe