Political Leadership and Downtown Redevelopment
The Clear and Eminent Danger.As we all know, the Kelo vs New London decision by the US Supreme Court, although narrowly affirming the use of eminent domain, has thrown a wet blanket over downtown redevelopment projects. Many downtown activists are wondering about how they can proceed and if significant urban renewals will still be viable?
Kelo has certainly made downtown revitalization much more difficult, but significant improvements are still possible. I would argue that there are four keys to future success: 1) Developing and cultivating the needed political leadership; 2) Providing a significant and publicized payment “premium” to displaced commercial and residential tenants; 3) Strenthening a project’s public purpose arguments, and 4) Doing more small and medium-sized projects that do not require the use of eminent domain. In today’s posting I want to focus on the leadership issue.
Representing Is Not Leading. Downtown revitalization by definition means change. Change threatens most people and they usually resist it. Leadership is usually required to help people negotiate the risks of change.
Most elected officials, despite their campaign rhetoric and public statements to the contrary, are risk-adverse: their fundamental drive is to be elected or re-elected. They are more interested in winning office and enjoying its benefits than in winning office in order to implement a particular program, plan or strategy. Most elected officials consequently feel at home playing the role of the representative, which means that they make public policy decisions based upon what they believe their key supporters want. The representative role fits in well with our notions of democracy because the representative is in a sense voicing the will of the people.
But, this is not leadership. Leaders lead. They are in the vanguard and they bring their followers with them.Leaders lead by providing their followers with inspiration, guidance and direction. Leaders are change agents. They have a vision or strategy . They are also able communicators and teachers — that is how they get their vision understood and accepted. They transmute public opinion instead of echoing it.
If the need for political leadership and “political will” has increased substantially because of the Kelo decision, then downtown organizations have to become much more involved in facilitating their emergence on relevant issues, while not becoming too political through overt involvment in electoral campaigns.
Action Steps. At this time I do not pretend to have a definitive action program that I can recommend to downtown officials. Below are some of my current thoughts, which I present to stimulate discussion among my downtown brethren:
- Some elected officials want to be leaders, but they do not know how. Downtown organizations need to identify and cultivate such potential leaders. This means that most of the downtown organizations I know, especially those in small and medium-sized communities, will have to increase their contacts with elected officials
- Let’s face it, many elected officials come up with rather thin and often ridiculous suggestions for new policies and programs. Some, however, are really hungry for solid program recommendations that they can make their own. There are obvious advantages in this, but also inherent dangers if they try to alter the programs in ways that make them ineffective or unacceptable to the downtown organization
- Present elected officials with a very clear, strong and articulate argument about the strong benefits of your redevelopment project. I can not tell you how many times I have seen projects going to council asking for the use of eminent domain with superficial and perfunctory arguments about resulting benefits
- There are many anecdotal statements by developers and public officials that the commercial and residential tenants displaced through eminent domain usually receive great financial deals and are better off than they were before. But we lack a collection of testimonials or a rigorous survey of those displaced to support such statements. The ULI or ICSC should sponsor such research
- Have a plan to organize public support for your redevelopment project to provide elected officials with some political cover. Project opposition organizes almost naturally. Project supporters among the public must be intentionally mobilized and organized. Leadership is more likely to emerge if there is a modicum of public support
- Many elected officials will feel that they know better than the downtown organization what should be done. Effective downtown organizations are less likely to be in such a position. Downtown organizations should not try to prove their effectiveness on a redevelopment project
- Elected officials need to be convinced that taking an unpopular position does not always mean incurring voter defections. As Bruce Bartlett has noted, in his blog on the New York Times website, American voters are amazingly tolerant of elected officials who take up policy positions different from their own — if the position is based on a clear ethical, moral, religious or political principle. Most political scientists would agree with Bartlett.
