Perspective
The Mayors Who Aren’t Burning Out
Local politics in a polarized era can be stressful. To survive, some municipal leaders have managed to mix pragmatism and wonkiness with a flair for creativity — and a thick skin.
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve leads the US Conference of Mayors.
Photographer: SOPA Images/LightRocketJust before the holidays, Houston voters elected John Whitmire as the city’s 63rd mayor, choosing the state senator over US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee in a hotly contested race. Before that two-person runoff, no fewer than 14 candidates were on the ballot.
And that raises a question: Why would so many people actually want that job?