The Political Whore

Yes, my droogies, there was a time when having civic pride in Tampa Bay meant a whole lot. When we were innocent enough to care that Tampa was awarded the “All America City” designation. When the meaning of civic involvement was broader than just whining on a blog about local government.

That time was 1990, to be precise.

Now, less than two decades later, civic involvement and (more importantly) the idea of learning more about civic involvement seems nowhere. Sure, you hear a proposal from a politician every once in a while for more civic engagement between the people and their government (such as St. Pete mayoral hopeful Bill Foster’s call for more business and civic groups to adopt maintenance in parks or requiring that neigborhood associations put in service hours in exchange for city grants).

For local elected officials, the repository of knowledge about improving your community’s civic health and democracy was the All America City awards’ custodian, the National Civic League (on Facebook, as well). The NCL was founded in 1894 by my fave president, Teddy Roosevelt, and other Progressives of that era.

The chairwoman of the National Civic League this year is former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman, who was mayor of Tampa in 1990 when the city won its designation. “Civic democracy is what I call it,” Freedman said over coffee in a South Tampa shop recently. And the National Civic League is bringing its annual community awards conference to the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina June 17 -19.

So why has there been so little said or written about this killer opportunity for local civic activists and politicians to attend and not only get some good training but hear some ideas that worked in other communities. Ideas we can steal.

“Last year, I must have heard 10 programs that could be applicable here,” Freedman said. “It’s great thievery.”

That’s how Tampa got its 1990 award-winning programs, or at least some of them. Paint Your Heart Out, a city-led volunteer effort to paint houses for low-income and elderly residents, was lifted from a similar prorgam in Pittsburgh. (”…We made it better,” Friedman laughed.)

The other two programs in the 1990 submission were the police QUAD Squad that targeted high-traffic drug sales areas (still in place) and a Peer-to-Peer Code Enforcement effort (which is no longer active).

The award recognizes cities, regions or neighborhoods as:

… communities that are overcoming their challenges through innovative leadership and collaborative problem solving. The All-America-City Award, a program of the National Civic League, is the oldest and most prestigious community recognition program in the country. The Award recognizes exceptional community problem-solving and is earned by communities that work cooperatively to address and overcome challenges.

And Tampa is among the 30 finalists this year, which were announced this afternoon:

Phoenix,  Arizona                     Windsor Heights,  Iowa           Toledo,  Ohio

Fort Smith,  Arkansas               Wichita,  Kansas                       Wooster, Ohio

Inglewood,  California              Pocomoke City, Maryland      Toledo,  Oregon

Rancho Cordova,  California   Rockville,  Maryland                Erie, Pennsylvania

Windsor,  Colorado                  Salisbury,  Maryland                 Providence, Rhode Island

Tampa,  Florida                         Somerville, Massachusetts      Chattanooga,  Tennessee

Bensenville,  Illinois                  Belton,  Missouri                       Rowlett, Texas

Carbondale,  Illinois                  Albany, New  York                  Caroline County, Virginia

Fort Wayne,  Indiana                Benson, North Carolina

Richmond,  Indiana                  Kinston, North Carolina

South Bend,  Indiana                Clinton, North Carolina

Des Moines,  Iowa                    Statesville, North Carolina

And there is still time to learn from the other cities’ successes. During the awards convention, each of the finalist cities gives a presentation on the programs that they highlighted in their award applications. Lots and lots of new, fresh ideas for Tampa Bay. Freedman said it is perfect for neighborhood activists.

Ten cities will end up winning after they make their presentations. But all of Tampa Bay can win if we are willing to hear how others are getting the job done and look at whether those techniques can work here, too.

Details on the All America City Awards conference here.

(Full disclosure: CL’s CEO, Ben Eason, is on the Host Committee for the NCL’s upcoming convention. He did not, however, participate in the assignment, writing or editing of this blog post.)

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