By Lisa Donovan
A trio of speakers kicked off this year’s Convention with their energy and wisdom: Mike Duggan, mayor of Detroit; Dan Gilmartin, executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League; and Rick Jacobs, president and CEO of Accelerator for America. Each brought a different perspective on seeing opportunities in the midst of crises. Below are some of their highlights.
Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit
The City of Detroit’s bankruptcy crisis is well known, of course. After welcoming League members to his city, Mayor Duggan shed some light on how his administration has helped guide the city out of bankruptcy and on the road to revitalization. He has primarily employed a three-pronged approach:
- Blight Removal – To deal with the huge number of neglected and abandoned buildings, the city instituted an aggressive blight demolition program. In the last five years, 19,000 buildings have been demolished and 9,000 vacant homes have been sold to new owners.
- Focus on Physical Beauty – The city has implemented programs to improve the aesthetic appeal of neighborhoods and the riverfront.
- Jobs – With a focus on providing more jobs for Detroiters, the unemployment rate is now under 10 percent. The city is recruiting companies to come back to Detroit and supporting entrepreneurs through programs like Motor City Match. These efforts are enticing millennials to return to Detroit.
Dan Gilmartin, Executive Director and CEO, Michigan Municipal League
At the state and federal level, crazy politics often interfere with creating any real, positive change in our country. But in communities, the work being done by local government leaders is having the only net positive effect. The secret sauce is the wonderfully innovative work in local communities across the state in the area of intangible infrastructure – education, reskilling, and culture. This intangible infrastructure is what makes for truly resilient communities. Its what people want to hear about, so we need to celebrate and do better at it. That’s what local leaders do on a daily basis.
We’ve entered a new period of innovation led by some of our communities. In Midland, they’re improving community resilience through positive psychology, civic engagement, social capital, fairness, belonging, and community. In Hudsonville, the community came together to transform a former car dealership into an engaging, multi-use community center – and won the League’s 2017 Community Excellence Award! And in Traverse City, the restoration of an old theater and the creation of an annual film festival has brought new life into their downtown.
You, too, can be impactful in your community. Don’t wait. Lead.
Rick Jacobs, President and CEO, Accelerator for America
Accelerator for America began several years ago in Los Angeles, when Mayor Garcetti set out to improve the lives of his residents. He zeroed in on traffic congestion and put Measure M on the ballot. It was the largest infrastructure measure in L.A. history – a complete transit system with something for everyone. It received an impressive 71% of the vote. With that win under their belt, Rick Jacobs and his team figured they could provide similar help in other cities across the state – so Accelerator for America was born.
Accelerator for America now works with local leaders to find solutions they can replicate or scale to improve their economic security. First, they took on infrastructure and worked with dozens of cities to provide small grants and technical assistance.
Now, they are helping cities understand how to take advantage of Opportunity Zones. These zones enable people to investment capital gains in certain zip codes. They’ve developed an investment prospectus tool that helps cities evaluate their assets and determine where they would want to see some investment put to work. It forces a community to think about itself and its priorities. Opportunity Zones disrupt how we think about building wealth in communities. They give people a chance to have an investment ownership in their own community. Jacobs is optimistic about the potential of Opportunity Zones because of the quality and commitment of local government leaders.