The mayors I’ve met are can-do optimists, free of the cynicism and vitriol that has poisoned much of American politics. Many were political outsiders who felt called to serve. Haris Doukas was a mechanical engineering professor before being elected mayor of Athens, Greece. Patrick Payton, the now-former mayor of Midland, Texas, was a pastor. Each signed up for a relatively unglamorous job that’s part CEO, part building inspector, part mediator—and, on a bad week—part first responder and grief counselor.
In my experience, mayors tend to be deeply committed to their fellow human beings and their livelihoods. Henriette Reker was stabbed in the…
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