This volume brings together the innovative ideas of 21 of America's leading governors and mayors expressed in their own words. The book features contributions carefully collected and selected over several years, including chapters by former Governors George Bush of Texas and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Mayors Giuliani and Daley of New York and Chicago respectively.
The editors have cast these varied contributions within the framework of "the New Public Management," whose main elements are: (1) reverting to core functions; (2) devolving authority and decentralizing; (3) "rightsizing," or limiting the size and scope of government; (4) restoring civil society; (5) adopting market principles; (6) managing for results, satisfying citizens, and holding government accountable; (7) empowering employees, citizens, and communities; and (8) introducing e-government and modern technology.

Welfare reform was a spectacular success in New York under Mayor Giuliani despite the city's history of liberal social programs and its huge, entrenched welfare system. The city reduced the numbers on welfare from 1,120,000 to 460,000 by changing the organizational culture, protecting against fraud, insisting on 'work first,' adapting information technology, and contracting for job placement. The organizational culture was transformed by bold leadership that changed the welfare agency's mission and goals, overcame internal resistance, and prevailed over politicians who had a vested interest in the status quo and the media that were opposed to welfare reform. Welfare fraud was largely eliminated by dropping from the rolls those who were working and could not appear for in-person interviews, by fingerprinting recipients to catch those enrolled under multiple identities and those receiving welfare checks from other jurisdictions, by uncovering hidden income, by enrolling new applicants only after thorough investigation, and by tightening controls to prevent fraud by corrupt employees. JobStat, a computer-based system modeled after the Police Department's system used to track precinct activity, was developed to track the status of welfare recipients and to monitor the performance of the 'Job Centers,' which were formerly called welfare offices. JobStat focused the attention of department personnel on performance indicators rather than on minutely specified rules. The Giuliani administration's major contribution to national welfare reform was the creation of the only system in the country with large-scale, alternative work arrangements that was able to acculturate large numbers of the never-employed to the world of work.

This volume brings together the innovative ideas of 21 of America's leading governors and mayors expressed in their own words. The book features contributions carefully collected and selected over several years, including chapters by former Governors George Bush of Texas and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Mayors Giuliani and Daley of New York and Chicago respectively.
The editors have cast these varied contributions within the framework of "the New Public Management," whose main elements are: (1) reverting to core functions; (2) devolving authority and decentralizing; (3) "rightsizing," or limiting the size and scope of government; (4) restoring civil society; (5) adopting market principles; (6) managing for results, satisfying citizens, and holding government accountable; (7) empowering employees, citizens, and communities; and (8) introducing e-government and modern technology.
Most of the chapters exemplify more than one of these elements. The most common theme of these officials is their use of market forces and principles to improve the conditions of their states and cities. Another common thread is empowering employees, citizens, and communities. Several officials describe their success in reforming education and others to their technological innovations and achievements; others describe their fundamental and thoroughgoing management reforms.
States and cities-small and large-are represented here, and their leaders illustrate and illuminate the kinds of forward thinking that can profitably be adopted elsewhere to achieve similar success. This book is intended to help make that happen.