Governing

11/26/2025

Leadership, integrity, and the courage to show up.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong talks with Governing CEO Cathilea Robinett in this week’s episode of The Common Thread.
https://bit.ly/44mpOxi

11/24/2025

Governments are hitting a new hurdle: “survey exhaustion.” As researchers Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene note, survey tools are easier than ever to launch, but response rates are falling, and with them, the reliability of the data leaders depend on.

It’s easier than ever to send out a survey instrument, and they’re an important tool for governments. But with so many of them out there, it’s harder than ever to reach a critical mass of respondents.

11/24/2025

Local government finance heads are sounding the alarm for 2026. According to a new survey by the National League of Cities, fewer than half of municipal CFOs believe they’ll be able to meet budgetary needs next year, a stark shift from the uptick of confidence seen in FY 2024.

Reduced revenues and rising costs leave municipalities tightening their budgets, per a new National League of Cities report.

11/20/2025

With threats rising from nation-state actors and criminal gangs, local governments may soon have new resources to strengthen their defenses against cyber threats. The House has passed the bipartisan PILLAR Act, which would extend the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program and expand it to cover industrial control systems.

The House voted this week to reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for seven years, while also modifying the program.

11/20/2025

Public servants keep government running, but they often lack the support they need. Stephen Goldsmith, the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, argues that investing in training and leadership pipelines is essential if states and localities want a workforce that can truly deliver for their communities.

It’s more important than ever to celebrate those who improve the mechanisms of government. And we need to give them the kind of learning opportunities to enable them to have even more of an impact.

11/19/2025

A new study reports that California has more alcohol-related traffic deaths than any other state. And it ranks last in its efforts to prevent impaired driving, from sobriety checkpoints to ignition interlock rules. Alan Ehrenhalt, a contributing editor for Governing, says the data should be a wake-up call. States that adopt stronger laws see fewer deaths, and the gap between California and top performers is “striking.”

The state is shockingly lax on DUIs, and it isn’t even the worst. But it shouldn’t be surprising that so many people are dying on California’s roads.

11/17/2025

Santa Monica, Calif. is almost entirely water self-sufficient thanks to a first-of-its-kind water treatment program. City leaders say they got here by planning for the city’s disaster resilience and trying out new solutions.

A recycling project in Santa Monica, Calif., is helping the city move away from dependence on imported water.

11/17/2025

What happens in Georgia could be a harbinger of the next presidential contest as well as MAGA’s future, writes Governing columnist Jabari Simama. Politicians of both parties should not underestimate the political power of Black women.

What happens in Georgia could be a harbinger of the next presidential contest as well as MAGA’s future. Politicians of both parties should not underestimate the political power of Black women.

11/16/2025

Broad property tax cuts often miss the mark, according to Governing’s finance columnist Girard Miller. A smarter approach, he says, is to target relief where it matters most: helping first-time buyers enter the market and older homeowners downsize without penalty. These changes could ease the housing crunch and make tax policy fairer for everyone.

Instead of across-the-board property tax cuts, targeted state and federal incentives for younger first-time home buyers and older would-be sellers could begin to break the logjam in the housing market.

11/16/2025

Ohio elections director Tonya Wichman has a simple idea for restoring public trust: open the doors. After years of growing tension around elections, she’s inviting residents to see the process up close — from ballot handling to vote-counting — to show there’s nothing to hide. Her message to other local officials: transparency builds confidence.

People outside of government aren’t the only ones who could benefit from a better understanding of election processes.

11/12/2025

Measuring emergency response times sounds simple but virtually every jurisdiction defines the metric differently. The variation makes comparing data across departments unreliable. Researchers Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene argue that metrics must separate life-and-death calls from lower-priority ones, because when they don’t, it skews performance and jeopardizes both public and responder safety.

Just about every jurisdiction measures them differently. The data should differentiate between life-and-death situations and less serious ones. Doing so could save lives — including those of first responders.

11/12/2025

As federal food-stamp benefits shrink and uncertainty grows during the shutdown, the Friends in Deed food pantry in Pasadena, Calif., is seeing its weekly visitor count spike. Volunteers and local government funding are stepping up, but with processing delays, benefit cuts and surging food prices, the demand may not recede.

How one organization in Pasadena, Calif., is mobilizing amid a shortage of federal food aid during the government shutdown.