News from the Institute for Local Government

Daniel K. Whitehurst is incoming president of the Institute for Local Government. He is a former mayor of Fresno and past president of the League’s Mayors and Council Members Department. He can be reached at dan@danwhitehurst.com.

People don’t want their public officials to be “leaders.” Marty Linsky, a faculty member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, makes this point, and I think he’s right. Voters say they want strong leadership, but what many really want is the opposite: someone who will protect them from having to change their minds or their ways. And they often get their wish; there is no shortage of candidates who run for public office not to lead, but to be popular or important.

The nuts and bolts of winning community support for affordable housing is the subject of a new Institute for Local Government (ILG) publication, Building Public Support for Affordable Housing: A Toolbox for California Officials.

Many city officials understand the link between health insurance for kids and some of the specific issues their communities are currently tackling, such as childhood obesity, at-risk youth, teen pregnancy, nutrition, truancy and public safety. But approximately 800,000 children in California do not have health insurance.

The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is the nonprofit, 501(c)(3) research affiliate of the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties. Its mission is to develop forward-thinking resources to help local officials serve their communities. For more about ILG and its work, visit www.ca-ilg.org.

Recent grants to the Institute for Local Government (ILG) from the Bank of America Foundation, Community Technology Foundation and James Irvine Foundation will bring new publications, services and technology resources to Californiacities and counties.

The Institute for Local Government (ILG) has a new resource for local agencies. It’s the brainchild of an intern who posed the question: Wouldn’t it be better if people knew about ethics laws before they sought either election or appointment to public office? That would enable them to make a more informed decision on whether public service is right for them. ILG has taken this idea and created a pamphlet for potential candidates for local office, produced with the generous support of the law firm Best Best & Krieger LLP.

Jerry Patterson is a past president of the Institute for Local Government and the 2005 recipient of the League’s Presidents’ Award for longstanding service to California cities. He is a former member of Congress and former mayor of the City of Santa Ana. Patterson presently serves on the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees.

As you work in the trenches of day-to-day service to your community, you may have wondered: How can I ensure that my efforts have a lasting impact? Are there ways I can help to provide a foundation for continued good local government? How will I be remembered by my community, my colleagues in public service and my family? What will my legacy be?