Thank you so much for joining us. Im thrilled to be here. I was telling jennifer that this kind of hits my sweet spot. This is when people kind of ask about the questions and people were accountable instantly for what they did and couldnt do for the people who elected them. That is something that doesnt seem to happen as much. That is a leaping off point for the conversation. And we are going to turn the questions over and we are going to start thinking what we are looking for really smart ones we will keep rocking and rolling this out. Im joined by the fabulous panel of people that i have known for a long time. Bruce katz is the Vice President of the Brookings Institution and he is coauthor of the book were talking about tonight. He regularly advises federal and state and local leaders on policy reforms that advance the competitiveness of metropolitan areas. After the 2000 election, he talked about housing issues under president obama and served as an advisor to the new secretary of h
Right now the Supreme Courts poll numbers have gone way down but mayors and city counselors are still in the 70s and 80s. Some would say thats the halo effect and you are exempt from your general critique but whatever you want to call it the fact is neighbors retain trust in democracy that has been largely lost elsewhere which means also our relationship to our own towns and cities and City Councils and mayors bad as it may be as the last repository of trust in democracy in the United States and in western europe. And the collapse of trust in the Democratic Institutions is in deep crisis because a democracy which loses the trust of its citizens is going to fail. The fact that trust is still greater means that at least in the city and town there is greater optimism. A lot of people like bloomberg and a lot of people dont like bloomberg but the thing about bloomberbloomber g as i saw last night in new york one someone who doesnt like bloomberg can go up to him and screamed in his ear and
Court rules remote meetings cannot continue after May 7
The High Court has ruled today that from May 7, council meetings in England must take place in person – dashing hopes that remote meetings would be able to continue after the coronavirus restrictions which allow them lapse.
The case brought by The Association of Democratic Services Officers, Lawyers in Local Government and Hertfordshire CC concerned whether councils already have the powers needed to hold online meetings through flexibility in current laws which date back to 1972. It received the backing of communities secretary Robert Jenrick.
The judgement by Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the Queen s Bench Division, and Mr Justice Chamberlain concluded: “The Secretary of State was correct in November 2016 and July 2019 to say that primary legislation would be required to allow local authority meetings under the 1972 Act to take place remotely. In our view, once the flexibility regulations cease to apply, such mee