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When asked to assess the political discourse in the country, American mayors did not mince their words.
“It’s broken,” said Xay Khamsyvoravong, the Democratic mayor of Newport, R.I.
“The national political discourse is nonsense,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat.
“It’s horrible,” said John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Ariz. “And it’s spilling over into school board meetings and city council meetings. I hope we survive it.”
But despite the deep concern about the future of the country, the view from City Hall was not all bleak. In recent interviews at a Kansas City meeting of the American Conference of Mayorsan independent organization of leaders of relatively large cities, mayors mainly described a country that was not as divided as the resentment of the election year suggested.
The New York Times sat down with nine mayors from nine states and asked them the same nine questions. They came from the West Coast, the East Coast and points in between, and from a range of partisan backgrounds, though big-city mayors tend to lean heavily Democratic. The mayors spoke matter-of-factly about the problems facing their cities — violence, climate change, housing instability — but also hopefully about the people and places they lead.
Here’s a selection of what they said, edited for length and clarity.
Anaheim, California.
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Democrat
If you could unilaterally change one state or federal law to help your city, what would it be and why?
“I would like to remove some of the barriers that stand in our way of building affordable housing in California.”
Pretend you’re the moderator of a presidential debate this year. What question would you most like to ask?
“I would ask, ‘What are two or three concrete things you can do to unite the electorate, regardless of who wins? And what are you going to do to implement that?’”
What gives you hope about the United States?
“The United States is the greatest democracy that has ever existed. And I look around, and as a woman, as a lawyer, I would like to know in what other country, in what other place in human history, I could lead one of the greatest cities.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“I would eat a churro on Main Street, in front of the Magic Kingdom.”
What good book have you read recently?
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah.
Columbus, Ohio
Mayor Andrew Ginther, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“We are one of the fastest growing cities in the country and therefore have a housing shortage.”
If you could unilaterally change one state or federal law to help your city, what would it be and why?
“I think the most important thing is probably that the federal and state governments respect and understand self-government, and that local government knows best.”
Pretend you’re the moderator of a presidential debate this year. What question would you most like to ask?
“What are your specific plans to address the current housing crisis in America?”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
A museum called the Center for Science and Industry. “It’s a place that my daughter and I have great memories of.”
What good book have you read recently?
“The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson.
Kansas City, Missouri.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“Housing. Housing production, homelessness, no places for people with mental illness to go.”
What can the rest of the country learn from your city?
“Public transport without fare. And it has not been without controversy. There are those who are now trying to get rid of it.”
What gives you hope about the United States?
“We agree on much more than people think.”
Finish this sentence: Covid-19 has permanently changed my city by…
“…reshaping the office market.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
The National Museum and Monument to the First World War.
What good book have you read recently?
“It’s going to sound like a political response. And I’m sorry about that. I’ve read some of Chris Murphy’s work on gun violence.”
Mesa, Arizona.
Mayor John Giles, Republican
What can the rest of the country learn from your city?
“We adopted a city goal to try to get fiber optic cables to every home and business in our city, and that required innovation.”
If you could unilaterally change one state or federal law to help your city, what would it be and why?
“To move to open primaries. I think a lot of the paralysis that we see in government right now has to do with partisanship, and Arizona is a great example of that.”
Finish this sentence: Covid-19 has permanently changed my city by…
“…open our eyes to the reality of different issues: food insecurity, housing insecurity, the digital divide. Some of these things we already knew, but it really took a slap in the face to realize how important those needs were.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“Mesa borders Tonto National Forest. And when you think Tonto National Forest, you think trees. No, this is a saguaro cactus forest. And it’s right next to the Salt River. So there’s a beautiful trail system called the Hawes Trail System.”
What good book have you read recently?
“Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver.
Michigan City, Indiana.
Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“Developing our people and our residents as we grow.”
Finish this sentence: Covid-19 has permanently changed my city by…
“It has changed our city permanently by allowing second homeowners to move directly to Michigan City to stay. I think as a tourist area we have a lot of people with second homes who have now become residents and have left Illinois.”
What gives you hope about the United States?
“I’ve put younger people on boards and committees. And they’re engaged — more engaged than I ever imagined.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“The lakefront, for sure. Our Washington Park area has a zoo, the lakefront, rooftop dining.”
What good book have you read recently?
“The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity” by Nadine Burke Harris.
Newport, RI
Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“Right now, it’s definitely infrastructure. We’re literally on the front lines of climate change. We’re right where the Atlantic Ocean collides with the North American continent. So we have the typical marine impacts that you would expect from a waterfront community, but we also have significant stormwater challenges.”
If you could unilaterally change one state or federal law to help your city, what would it be and why?
“Abolish No Child Left Behind and the failed state education policies associated with it.”
Finish this sentence: Covid-19 has permanently changed my city by…
“…change our education system.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
The Newport Cliff Walk “is a 3.5-mile path that hugs the jagged edge of Newport’s coastline. On one side, you have Gilded Age mansions. On the other side, you have a drop into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s absolutely spectacular. But it’s also important because it gives you a front-line feel for the effects of climate change.”
What good book have you read recently?
“Red Helicopter – A Parable for Our Times” by James Rhee.
Oklahoma City
Mayor David Holt, Republican
Finish this sentence: Covid-19 has permanently changed my city by…
“What if it wasn’t?” He added: “The economy is booming, downtown is as active as ever. We got through it.”
What gives you hope about the United States?
“I actually don’t think we’re a polarized country,” he added. “There’s about 70 percent in the middle who just want to work together to get things done, and that’s registered Republicans, Democrats and independents.”
Pretend you’re the moderator of a presidential debate this year. What question would you most like to ask?
“It’s like, ‘How are you going to purposefully bring people together over the next four years?’”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“Attraction feels trivial to what I’m about to say. But they need to go to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. And especially in this current political environment, I think this event has a really important lesson for people because it’s the ultimate reminder of the natural outcome of dehumanizing your political opponents.”
What good book have you read recently?
“Boom Town” by Sam Anderson.
Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Mayor Paige Cognetti, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“Youth violence is our biggest problem in Scranton right now.”
What can the rest of the country learn from your city?
“Scranton is leading the way when it comes to residential downtowns.”
How do you assess the national political discourse and how does it influence your work?
“The discourse is not indicative of where the vast majority of Americans are. We have this 10 percent-ish on both the right and the left that is taking over the entire space in the conversation. And that’s really hard in a place like Scranton.”
Pretend you’re the moderator of a presidential debate this year. What question would you most like to ask?
“Public education has been dismantled and really dismantled over generations. And what do you think you can do about that in the next four years?”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“Our coal mine tours. You actually go 300 feet under the earth, into the earth on the coal mine tour. It’s pretty cool. But seriously, it gives you an idea of what people still experience to this day.”
What good book have you read recently?
“Grounded: A Senator’s Lessons on Winning Back Rural America” by Jon Tester.
Tampa, Florida.
Mayor Jane Castor, Democrat
What is the biggest challenge facing your city?
“We are one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And so transportation, affordable housing, workforce development, sustainability, resiliency — those areas are a concern for us.”
If you could unilaterally change one state or federal law to help your city, what would it be and why?
“It would be something to do with firearms, the availability of them.”
What gives you hope about the United States?
“Our democracy will survive. I have no doubt about that.”
Pretend you’re the moderator of a presidential debate this year. What question would you most like to ask?
“I would ask them how they think they can best serve the average American.”
A visitor traveling through your city has time to see one attraction. Where should they go?
“Hop into one of our pirate taxis and take a historical tour.”
What good book have you read recently?
“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride.
