What is going on in local politics in America?
I met the mayors of dozens of American cities of all sizes to learn what I could
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As many of you know I’m building a new company called Hamlet. As part of that, one of my investors invited me to the National Conference of Mayors this past weekend in Columbus. I want to share a bit about what I learned - both from a business, and non-business perspective.
I tried to ask every mayor I met, regardless of city size, what ‘keeps them up at night’. The answer was nearly 100 percent consistent across the board: crime and safety was number 1, and economic development of downtown areas was number 2.
On crime and safety, it didn’t seem to matter what city size was, or where in the country it was located - mayors all feel like it’s getting worse and we are at a critical point to turn it around. It seems to have gotten worse during COVID in particular, and our local officials are working hard to solve it.
On the economic development side, many mayors are trying to figure out how to bring people back downtown. Specifically - also during COVID - many moved out of downtown areas. There is a labor shortage obviously for many different types of roles, but the main challenge appears to be convincing qualified workers to move back to areas where they are needed.
From a purely tech perspective, AI did not come up a great deal in a good or bad way. I proactively brought it up in the context of what I’m working on at Hamlet, and it seemed to resonate. But it seems like the main tech issue mayors are focused on is broadband access for citizens in every city. There is Federal funding allotted for this, and Mayors are trying to find a way to make sure they get their city’s fair share.
Mental health is a top 5 issue for every mayor. There is broad concern about the worsening mental health crisis in America and how to address it.
It’s a great reminder as tech entrepreneurs and employees that we often think about problems in the context of the coastal cities. The problems in most of America are vastly different, and it’s good to get out of the echo chamber. I am going to do follow up trips to Arkansas, Virginia and Ohio in coming months, which I’ll report back on.
I went to high school in Cleveland and was grateful to spend a little time with Mayor Bibb (pictured) from Cleveland - he’s a dynamic young leader. I met other great leaders like him at the conference, which makes me optimistic about the future of America (despite our contentious national politics).