Ideas from elsewhere: Leadership

Denver: Metro Mayors Caucus
Founded in 1997 at the instigation of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, it now counts 272 mayors in the Chicago region as members. Originally, Daley just sought a meeting about economic issues with various municipal associations around Chicagoland, but the effort evolved into this formal caucus. The issues the caucus has worked on successfully include water and air quality, infrastructure, reliable electric power, education, housing, transportation, and emergency preparedness. To learn more, go to http://www.mayorscaucus.org/

Chicago: Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
Founded in 1993 by a group of suburban mayors. Today, 32 mayors are members; while Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Philadelphia native, is widely praised for his effectiveness in working with the caucus, right now he is not even an officer of the caucus. All of the officers are suburban. The caucus is staffed by a nonprofit organization called Civic Results, and attempts to operate by consensus. The caucus has worked on youth violence, air quality and telecommunications; its current focus is drought mitigation. Its signal achievement might be its advocacy for FasTracks, a 12-year transportation plan which aims to bring better high-speed rail, bus service and park-and-ride logs to the Denver region. See: www.metromayors.org.

Alliance for Regional Stewardship:
"The Guide to Successful Local Government Collaborations in America's Regions," a report written by former head of the alliance, David Thornburgh, details the variety and nature of regional leadership initiatives around the nation. It can be found at: www.regionalstewardship.org.