Nashville, July 9, 2009. There was a time, not so very long ago, when state and local governments worked seamlessly with the White House and Congress to solve problems, advance the public interest and promote the common good. It was back then, during the Democrat Johnson administration and the Republican Nixon administration that programs like federal revenue sharing, community development block grants, dam safety and environmental protection flourished. State governments were called “incubators of democracy” and local officials were recognized as national leaders.
Back then, ideas bubbled up, from aggressive mayors, reformist governors and professionally managed counties. They were embraced by members of Congress and the White House and enacted. Somehow, in the intervening decades, that happy partnership dissolved. The marble-cake pattern of cooperative federal-local relations morphed into a strict, often antagonistic layer-cake model. The thinking went: The level of government you’re in, works good. The level above you (federal or state) is an SOB. The level of government below you (local) needs to be watched. It’s as if Washington considered every city and county official as a corrupt, local yokel who couldn’t be trusted with the public purse. No wonder it has been an unproductive time.
We at the county level certainly felt ignored. It seemed all we ever got from the feds were mandates, unfunded mandates, cumbersome, inflexible policies and little cooperation. We just didn’t have a seat at the table. We just couldn’t get our message across, even though we were the ones closest to the people, the ones who actually had to implement the top-down programs.
After a year as President of the National Association of Counties, I am pleased to report things are changing. And as a loyal Arizona Republican who proudly voted for John McCain, I have to concede the new Obama administration is making quite a difference. At last Washington seems interested in NACo’s mission, “Restore the Partnership.”
n County and city officials participated in the planning and implementation of the $787 billion stimulus plan. I am impressed with the comprehensive reporting and accountability standards the legislation included. We want transparency and accountability. We want to spend the money wisely and well. Indeed, I hope the standards applied to stimulus funds will become standard operating procedure for federal funds.
n In May, the president issued a memorandum urging all federal departments to be careful about pre-empting state laws. “State and local governments have frequently protected health, safety and the environment more aggressively than has the national government,” the president wrote. How long we have yearned for somebody from Washington to say that – and mean it.
n Cabinet officials and top officials of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs seem genuinely interested in working with local officials. One, Ron Sims, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a longtime county official from King County, Washington. He and I were colleagues in NACo. He visited Phoenix earlier this month and met with Maricopa County officials on affordable housing, energy efficiency and sustainability, all key elements of his service to King County. I hope our longtime friendship can produce good results for Arizona. I know I trust him.
It is my belief that we cannot afford the old antagonisms, the bitter partisanship, the silly jealousies and rivalries between federal, state and local governments. We serve the same people. We represent the same people. There are good programs, well run initiatives and fine public servants at the local, state and federal level. And there are those whose time has passed. We need to embrace good ideas wherever they come from. We need to scrap old, worn-out programs if they no longer work.
I hope a new, more cooperative and productive partnership is forming. We certainly need it.
Don Stapley is on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. He is president of the National Association of Counties and a resident of Mesa.