The Role of Mayors: Powers, Responsibilities, and Limits

Walk down the main street of any American city, and you’ll likely see the mayor’s name on everything from ribbon-cutting ceremonies to emergency announcements. But what does a mayor actually do? And more importantly, how much power does this local leader really have?

The role of mayors in shaping our communities is both significant and surprisingly misunderstood. While many Americans can name the President and their state’s Governor, far fewer understand the scope of their mayor’s authority—even though mayoral decisions often have the most direct impact on their daily lives. From the condition of your neighborhood streets to how quickly police respond to calls, from local business development to park maintenance, mayors influence the quality of life in your community in tangible, immediate ways.

This comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about mayoral powers, responsibilities, and limitations. Whether you’re a concerned citizen, a student of government, or someone considering local politics, understanding how mayors operate is essential to participating in local democracy.

What Does a Mayor Do? Understanding Core Responsibilities

At the most fundamental level, a mayor serves as the chief executive and public face of a city or town. But this simple definition barely scratches the surface of what mayors actually handle day-to-day.

Executive and Administrative Duties

Mayors oversee the practical operation of city government, which includes:

Managing City Departments: Mayors supervise essential services including police departments, fire services, sanitation and waste management, public works and infrastructure, parks and recreation, and city planning offices. In larger cities, this means coordinating thousands of employees across dozens of departments.

Budget Development and Financial Oversight: One of the mayor’s most critical responsibilities is proposing an annual city budget. This involves analyzing revenue projections, prioritizing spending across competing needs, negotiating with department heads, and presenting a balanced budget to the city council. The mayor must make difficult decisions about where taxpayer dollars go—whether to hire more police officers or expand library hours, whether to repair aging infrastructure or fund new parks.

Personnel Management: In strong-mayor systems, the mayor typically has authority to hire and fire key department heads. This includes positions like the police chief, fire chief, public works director, and other senior administrators. These appointment powers allow mayors to build teams aligned with their policy priorities.

Policy Implementation: Once the city council passes laws and ordinances, the mayor ensures they’re properly implemented. This includes directing city agencies to carry out new policies, monitoring compliance, and adjusting procedures as needed.

Legislative and Political Functions

While city councils hold primary legislative authority, mayors play an important role in the lawmaking process:

Proposing Legislation: Mayors can recommend new ordinances and policies to the city council, often working with council members to draft and sponsor legislation. Successful mayors build coalitions to advance their policy agenda.

Veto Power: In many cities, mayors can veto ordinances passed by the council, though councils can often override vetoes with a supermajority vote. This gives mayors significant leverage in negotiations.

Setting the Agenda: Through their platform, public statements, and relationships with council members, mayors help set the city’s policy priorities and shape public discourse on local issues.

Community Leadership and Representation

Perhaps the most visible aspect of a mayor’s job involves serving as the community’s leader and representative:

Public Communication: Mayors regularly communicate with residents through press conferences, social media, town halls, newsletters, and media interviews. During emergencies—whether natural disasters, public health crises, or civil unrest—the mayor becomes the primary voice providing information and reassurance.

Ceremonial Duties: From cutting ribbons at new business openings to throwing the first pitch at baseball games, mayors perform countless ceremonial functions that, while seemingly minor, help build community identity and morale.

Intergovernmental Relations: Mayors represent their cities in dealings with county, state, and federal governments. They lobby for grants and funding, coordinate regional initiatives, and advocate for their community’s interests in larger political arenas.

Economic Development: Mayors often serve as their city’s chief promoter, working to attract businesses, support local entrepreneurs, encourage tourism, and create jobs. This might involve traveling to recruit companies, meeting with developers, or championing specific industries.

Strong-Mayor vs. Weak-Mayor Systems: Understanding Mayoral Authority

Not all mayors wield the same level of power. The extent of mayoral authority largely depends on the governmental structure established by the city’s charter. Understanding these differences is crucial for knowing what your mayor can—and cannot—do.

The Strong-Mayor System

In a strong-mayor system, the mayor functions as the city’s chief executive with substantial administrative and political power, similar to how a governor runs a state or the President runs the federal government.

Key Characteristics:

Direct Executive Authority: The mayor has clear control over city administration, with the power to hire and fire most department heads without council approval
Budget Control: While the council must approve the budget, the mayor has primary responsibility for its development and significant influence over spending priorities
Veto Power: The mayor can veto council legislation, requiring a supermajority (often two-thirds) to override
Clear Separation: The mayor and council have distinct, separate roles with the mayor focused on administration and the council on legislation
Direct Election: Strong mayors are typically elected by the entire city (at-large) rather than by the council

Where You’ll Find It: Strong-mayor systems are common in larger cities. Examples include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Houston. These cities need strong executive leadership to manage complex, large-scale operations.

Real-World Impact: When New York City faced the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio could make swift executive decisions about lockdowns, resource allocation, and emergency protocols because the strong-mayor system gave him that authority. Similarly, Chicago’s mayors have historically used their strong executive powers to drive major infrastructure projects and economic initiatives.

The Weak-Mayor System

In a weak-mayor system, power is more dispersed, with the city council playing a much larger role in administration and the mayor serving more as a ceremonial leader and council chairperson.

Key Characteristics:

Limited Executive Power: The mayor has minimal authority to hire, fire, or direct department heads independently
Council-Centered Administration: The city council, often through committees, oversees most administrative functions
City Manager Reliance: Many weak-mayor cities employ a professional city manager who handles day-to-day operations, with the mayor serving as a part-time political figurehead
Restricted Veto: Mayors in these systems often lack veto power or have very limited veto authority
Council Selection: In some weak-mayor systems, the mayor is selected by the council from among its members rather than elected separately

Where You’ll Find It: Weak-mayor systems are more common in smaller cities and towns, as well as some medium-sized cities. Examples include Oakland, California (which has a weak-mayor structure with a strong city administrator), and many suburban communities.

Real-World Impact: In cities with weak-mayor systems, major policy changes require broad council consensus rather than executive action. This can mean slower decision-making but also more deliberative, inclusive processes. For instance, in weak-mayor cities, responses to emergencies might require rapid council meetings rather than unilateral mayoral action.

The Council-Manager System: A Third Model

Many American cities use a council-manager system, which is distinct from both strong- and weak-mayor models:

Professional Management: An appointed city manager (or administrator) handles all administrative functions
Political Leadership: The mayor serves primarily as a ceremonial leader and council chairperson, often rotating among council members or elected separately with limited powers
Policy vs. Administration: The council sets policy, and the city manager implements it, creating a clear separation between politics and administration

Cities like Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Kansas City use this model. The International City/County Management Association notes that this system is designed to bring professional expertise to city management while maintaining democratic accountability through elected officials.

How Mayors Are Elected: Paths to Office

Understanding mayoral elections helps explain a mayor’s political mandate and accountability to voters.

Election Methods

Direct At-Large Elections: Most mayors are elected by all voters in the city, running citywide campaigns that require building broad coalitions across neighborhoods and demographic groups.

Partisan vs. Nonpartisan Elections: Some cities hold partisan elections where candidates run with party labels (Democrat, Republican, etc.), while others use nonpartisan elections where party affiliation doesn’t appear on the ballot, theoretically focusing campaigns on local issues rather than national politics.

Council Selection: In some weak-mayor and council-manager cities, the mayor is selected by the city council from among its members, either on a rotating basis or through a council vote.

Runoff Requirements: Many cities require mayoral candidates to win an outright majority (50% plus one vote). If no candidate achieves this in the initial election, the top two candidates face each other in a runoff election.

Term Lengths and Limits

Typical Terms: Most mayors serve four-year terms, though some cities have two-year terms.

Term Limits: Cities vary widely on term limits. Some impose strict limits (like New York City’s two-term limit), others allow unlimited terms (Chicago has no term limits), and some fall in between. Term limits affect whether mayors govern with long-term vision or short-term urgency.

A Day in the Life: What Mayors Actually Do

The daily reality of being a mayor involves juggling numerous responsibilities across executive, legislative, and ceremonial realms.

Morning: Briefings and Administrative Work

A typical mayoral day might start with briefings from department heads about overnight incidents, budget updates, or emerging issues. The mayor reviews reports, makes personnel decisions, and plans responses to community concerns.

Midday: Meetings and Public Engagement

The middle of the day often involves meetings with stakeholders—business leaders seeking permits, community groups advocating for resources, developers proposing projects, or state officials coordinating regional initiatives. Mayors also hold staff meetings to coordinate across departments and advance policy priorities.

Afternoon and Evening: Public Appearances

Mayors frequently attend community events, neighborhood meetings, ribbon cuttings, and public forums. These appearances aren’t just ceremonial—they’re how mayors stay connected to constituents, hear concerns firsthand, and build political support.

Crisis Management: The Unpredictable Element

When emergencies strike—severe weather, public safety incidents, infrastructure failures, or public health threats—the mayor’s schedule changes instantly. Crisis management becomes the sole focus, requiring coordination with emergency services, communication with the public, and often round-the-clock work until the situation stabilizes.

Mayoral Powers in Practice: Real-World Examples

Understanding mayoral powers becomes clearer when examining how mayors have used—or attempted to use—their authority.

Executive Action: Making Swift Decisions

Case Study – COVID-19 Response: During the early months of the pandemic, mayors across the country demonstrated their executive powers. San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued one of the nation’s first shelter-in-place orders in March 2020, using emergency executive authority to protect public health. This decision, made without waiting for state or federal action, likely saved lives but also sparked debates about mayoral authority limits.

Infrastructure Initiatives: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg used his strong executive powers to advance major infrastructure projects, including the transformation of Times Square into a pedestrian plaza and the creation of hundreds of miles of bike lanes. These initiatives showed how strong-mayor systems enable rapid, sometimes controversial changes to urban landscapes.

Budget Battles: Financial Leadership

Case Study – Pension Crisis: Many mayors have faced difficult budget decisions around pension obligations. Chicago’s mayors have struggled for years with underfunded pension systems, requiring painful choices between honoring commitments to retired workers and funding current services. This illustrates how mayoral budget authority comes with serious constraints and competing pressures.

Revenue Innovation: Some mayors have used their budgetary influence to implement new revenue sources. Seattle’s Mayor Jenny Durkan worked with the council to implement a tax on large employers to fund homeless services, demonstrating how mayors can shape revenue policy even in council-strong systems.

Veto Power: When Mayors Say No

Case Study – Minimum Wage Debates: In cities where councils have passed minimum wage increases that mayors opposed, veto power becomes critical. Some mayors have successfully vetoed such measures, while others have seen their vetoes overridden, highlighting both the power and limits of mayoral authority.

Limits Revealed: When Mayors Can’t Act

State Preemption: Mayors sometimes discover their limits when state governments block local action. Many mayors have attempted to pass gun control measures, raise minimum wages, or implement environmental regulations only to be stopped by state preemption laws that prohibit cities from regulating in these areas.

Council Resistance: Even strong mayors need council support for major initiatives. When councils refuse to approve mayoral appointments, reject budgets, or override vetoes, the limits of mayoral power become apparent.

The Mayor-Council Relationship: Collaboration and Conflict

The relationship between mayors and city councils defines how effectively a city is governed.

Collaborative Governance

Best Practices: Effective mayors build strong working relationships with council members through regular communication, shared credit for successes, respect for council authority, and genuine consideration of council input on mayoral priorities.

Coalition Building: Successful mayors function as coalition builders, working to secure majority support for their initiatives. This requires understanding each council member’s priorities, constituents, and political calculations.

Points of Tension

Budget Conflicts: Disagreements over spending priorities frequently create friction. Mayors might prioritize infrastructure while councils favor social services, or vice versa.

Appointment Battles: When mayors nominate controversial department heads, councils can use confirmation powers (where they exist) to block appointments or force compromises.

Veto Override Attempts: Few things highlight mayor-council divisions more than veto override votes, which require councils to marshal supermajorities to reverse mayoral decisions.

Structural Factors

The formal governmental structure heavily influences this relationship. Strong-mayor systems create clearer separation with potential for sharper conflicts but also more efficient decision-making. Weak-mayor and council-manager systems require consensus but may produce more deadlock.

Legal and Structural Limits on Mayoral Power

Even the strongest mayors operate within significant constraints.

Constitutional and State Law Limits

State Constitutions: Cities are created by and subject to state law. State constitutions and statutes define what cities can and cannot do, limiting mayoral authority to areas where states permit local action.

Dillon’s Rule: In many states, cities can only exercise powers explicitly granted by the state legislature. This legal doctrine, called Dillon’s Rule, significantly restricts mayoral discretion. Mayors in Dillon’s Rule states can’t simply create new programs or regulations without state authorization.

Home Rule: Some states grant cities “home rule” authority, allowing broader local discretion in managing municipal affairs. Mayors in home rule cities have more flexibility to address local issues without seeking state permission, but even home rule has limits.

State Preemption: State legislatures can prohibit cities from regulating certain areas, even in home rule states. Recent decades have seen increased state preemption on issues like minimum wage, environmental regulations, and gun control, limiting what mayors can accomplish.

Federal Law and Funding

Federal Mandates: Federal laws can require cities to take specific actions, limiting mayoral discretion. Civil rights laws, environmental regulations, and disability access requirements all constrain what mayors can do.

Funding Strings: When cities accept federal grants, they often must comply with federal conditions. This gives mayors resources but limits their freedom in using those resources.

Charter and Structural Constraints

City Charters: Every city operates under a charter—essentially a local constitution—that defines mayoral powers and limits. Charters specify whether the mayor can veto legislation, hire department heads, or reorganize city government.

Civil Service Systems: Many cities have civil service protections that limit whom mayors can hire and fire. While mayors might appoint department heads, rank-and-file employees often have job protections that prevent politically motivated dismissals.

Independent Agencies: Cities often have boards, commissions, or authorities that operate independently of mayoral control. School boards, housing authorities, and public health boards may set their own policies regardless of mayoral preferences.

Budget Constraints

Balanced Budget Requirements: Most cities must balance their budgets, preventing mayors from deficit spending even during emergencies or economic downturns.

Dedicated Revenue Streams: Some tax revenues are dedicated to specific purposes, limiting mayoral flexibility in allocating resources.

Debt Limits: State law often caps how much debt cities can carry, constraining mayors’ ability to finance infrastructure or other capital projects.

How Mayoral Decisions Impact Your Daily Life

The abstract concept of “mayoral power” becomes concrete when you examine how it affects residents’ everyday experiences.

Public Safety and Emergency Response

Police and Fire Services: Mayors influence how many officers patrol your neighborhood, how quickly firefighters respond to emergencies, and what community policing strategies are employed. In strong-mayor systems, the mayor typically appoints the police chief, directly shaping law enforcement priorities.

Emergency Preparedness: When disasters strike, your mayor coordinates the response. From snow removal to hurricane evacuations, mayoral decisions affect your safety and convenience.

Infrastructure and Transportation

Road Conditions: The state of your streets—whether pothole-filled or smoothly paved—reflects mayoral budget priorities and management effectiveness.

Public Transportation: Mayors shape public transit systems through budget allocations, policy priorities, and advocacy with regional transportation authorities.

Traffic Management: Decisions about bike lanes, parking policies, and street design flow through city hall, often with direct mayoral involvement.

Quality of Life Services

Parks and Recreation: The condition of local parks, the availability of recreation programs, and the maintenance of public spaces all reflect mayoral priorities and budget decisions.

Sanitation: Whether your trash gets collected reliably, how often streets are cleaned, and what recycling programs exist are mayoral responsibilities.

Libraries and Cultural Services: Funding for libraries, museums, and cultural programs depends heavily on mayoral budget proposals and political support.

Economic Opportunity

Business Development: Mayoral efforts to attract employers, support local businesses, and streamline permit processes directly affect job availability in your community.

Housing Policy: Through zoning influence, development approval, and affordable housing initiatives, mayors shape the availability and cost of housing in your city.

Neighborhood Investment: Which neighborhoods receive new infrastructure, business incentives, or public facilities often reflects mayoral priorities and political calculations.

Notable Mayors and Their Legacies

Examining influential mayors throughout American history illustrates how mayoral leadership can transform cities.

Reformers and Innovators

Fiorello La Guardia (New York City, 1934-1945): “The Little Flower” transformed New York City government, fighting corruption, building infrastructure including LaGuardia Airport, and establishing the city as a model of progressive urban governance.

Richard Lugar (Indianapolis, 1968-1975): As mayor, Lugar pioneered the “Unigov” system, consolidating city and county governments to create efficiencies and strengthen regional governance. He later applied lessons from mayoral leadership to a distinguished U.S. Senate career.

Coleman Young (Detroit, 1974-1993): Detroit’s first Black mayor led the city through economic transformation and racial tension, demonstrating how mayors navigate complex demographic and economic challenges.

Modern Urban Leaders

Michael Bloomberg (New York City, 2002-2013): Bloomberg’s twelve years in office (he successfully pushed to extend term limits) showcased strong-mayor leadership, implementing controversial policies like the soda ban and stop-and-frisk, while also advancing public health initiatives and economic development.

Mitch Landrieu (New Orleans, 2010-2018): Leading New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, Landrieu demonstrated how mayors guide cities through recovery while addressing longstanding inequities. His decision to remove Confederate monuments showed how mayors can shape community identity.

Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Indiana, 2012-2020): As a young mayor, Buttigieg revitalized a struggling industrial city, later using his mayoral experience as a springboard to national prominence and ultimately becoming U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

Lessons from Mayoral Leadership

These leaders demonstrate that effective mayors:

Build coalitions across diverse constituencies
Make difficult decisions despite political pressure
Think long-term while managing daily crises
Use their platform to shape public discourse
Navigate the limits of their authority creatively

Challenges Facing Modern Mayors

Today’s mayors confront unprecedented challenges that test the boundaries of their authority and leadership.

Fiscal Constraints

Pension Obligations: Many cities face enormous pension and healthcare obligations to retired workers, consuming increasing shares of budgets and limiting mayors’ ability to invest in new services or infrastructure.

Revenue Limitations: State-imposed tax caps, changing economies, and federal funding cuts leave mayors scrambling for resources while resident expectations for services remain high.

Infrastructure Decay: Decades of deferred maintenance mean mayors inherit crumbling infrastructure requiring massive investment precisely when budgets are tightest.

Homelessness: Rising homelessness in cities nationwide forces mayors to address complex issues involving mental health, addiction, affordable housing, and criminal justice—often with limited authority and resources.

Income Inequality: Growing wealth gaps create political pressure on mayors to address inequality through minimum wage laws, affordable housing mandates, and economic development programs, even as state preemption limits these tools.

Gentrification: Mayors must balance economic development that brings investment with protecting long-time residents from displacement—a politically fraught challenge with no easy solutions.

Political Polarization

National Politics at the Local Level: Increasingly, national political divisions play out at city hall, making it harder for mayors to build coalitions or focus on pragmatic local problem-solving.

State-Local Conflicts: In many states, mayors of urban cities find themselves at odds with state legislatures dominated by suburban and rural representatives with different priorities and ideologies.

Climate and Resilience

Climate Adaptation: Mayors must prepare cities for climate change impacts—rising seas, extreme heat, severe storms—often without adequate federal or state support.

Sustainability Goals: Resident expectations for climate action push mayors to adopt ambitious environmental policies, sometimes beyond their legal authority or financial capacity.

Public Safety Reimagining

Police Reform: Following high-profile incidents of police violence, mayors face intense pressure to reform law enforcement, but they may lack legal authority over police unions, civil service protections, or state law governing police practices.

Crime Management: Balancing demands for safety with calls for reform requires mayors to navigate competing constituencies and limited policy tools.

Getting Involved: How to Engage with Your Mayor

Understanding mayoral power should inspire civic engagement. Here’s how you can participate in local democracy:

Direct Engagement

Attend City Council Meetings: Public comment periods allow you to speak directly to your mayor and council about issues affecting your community. Many cities now offer virtual attendance options.

Town Halls and Community Meetings: Mayors regularly hold community forums where residents can ask questions, voice concerns, and offer suggestions in more informal settings than official council meetings.

Office Hours: Some mayors hold regular office hours where constituents can meet one-on-one to discuss concerns.

Social Media: Many mayors maintain active social media presences, providing a direct line for communication, though responses may come from staff rather than the mayor personally.

Organized Advocacy

Join Neighborhood Associations: Organized groups have more influence than individual voices. Neighborhood associations can request meetings with the mayor and coordinate advocacy efforts.

Coalition Building: Partner with others who share your concerns to amplify your voice. Larger, more diverse coalitions are harder for mayors to ignore.

Campaign Participation: Support mayoral candidates whose priorities align with yours. Campaign volunteers gain access and influence beyond typical residents.

Informed Participation

Understand the Budget: The city budget reveals mayoral priorities more clearly than speeches. Learn to read budget documents, attend budget hearings, and advocate for your priorities during budget season.

Know Your Charter: Understanding your city’s governmental structure—whether strong-mayor, weak-mayor, or council-manager—helps you direct advocacy efforts appropriately and understand what your mayor can and cannot do.

Follow Local Media: Stay informed about mayoral decisions, policy debates, and city issues through local newspapers, news websites, and radio, rather than relying solely on social media or national news.

Use Open Records: Most cities have open records laws allowing residents to request government documents. This transparency helps hold mayors accountable and inform advocacy.

Hold Mayors Accountable

Fact-Check Promises: Track whether mayors follow through on campaign promises and public commitments. Organizations like local newspapers and civic groups often create promise trackers.

Attend Oversight Hearings: When controversies arise, council oversight hearings provide forums for questioning mayoral decisions and demanding accountability.

Support Transparency: Advocate for open government policies that make mayoral decision-making more visible and accessible to residents.

Vote: Ultimately, electoral accountability remains the most powerful tool. If your mayor’s performance disappoints, support opponents and vote accordingly.

The Future of Mayoral Leadership

The role of mayors continues to evolving in response to changing challenges and expectations.

Expanding Responsibilities

Climate Leadership: As federal climate action stalls, mayors increasingly drive sustainability initiatives, joining networks like the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to coordinate action beyond what individual cities can achieve alone.

Public Health Authority: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how mayoral public health powers can protect residents but also highlighted limits and controversies around emergency authority.

Digital Governance: Smart city technologies give mayors new tools for managing urban systems but also raise privacy concerns and require technological expertise beyond traditional mayoral skill sets.

Structural Reforms

Ranked Choice Voting: Some cities are experimenting with ranked choice voting for mayoral elections, potentially changing campaign dynamics and coalition building.

Stronger Regional Cooperation: As urban challenges cross city boundaries, mayors increasingly work through regional authorities and coalitions, potentially shifting power from individual mayors to collaborative networks.

Charter Modernization: Many cities are updating charters to clarify mayoral powers, add transparency requirements, or adjust the balance between mayors and councils.

Political Pipelines

Mayors as National Leaders: Recent decades have seen numerous mayors leverage their experience into higher office—senators, governors, cabinet secretaries, and presidential candidates increasingly come from mayoral ranks, raising the profile of local executive experience.

Conclusion: The Role of Mayors

The role of mayors extends far beyond ribbon cuttings and photo opportunities. As chief executives of cities and towns, mayors make decisions that directly affect the daily lives of millions of Americans—from the safety of neighborhoods to the quality of schools, from economic opportunities to environmental conditions.

Understanding mayoral powers, responsibilities, and limits empowers citizens to engage more effectively with local government. When you know what your mayor can and cannot do, you can direct advocacy appropriately, set realistic expectations, and hold leaders accountable for matters within their control.

The variations in mayoral authority—from strong-mayor systems where executives wield substantial power to weak-mayor arrangements where councils dominate—reflect American democracy’s experimental nature. There’s no single right answer about how much power mayors should have. Each system has tradeoffs between efficiency and deliberation, accountability and consensus.

What remains constant is that mayors matter. They serve as the most visible connection between government and governed, the leaders who must respond when streets flood, budgets tighten, neighborhoods change, or crises strike. Their decisions about where to build parks, how to patrol streets, and what businesses to attract shape communities for generations.

As cities continue growing more complex, as challenges from climate change to inequality intensify, and as political polarization strains governance at all levels, mayors will only become more important. These local leaders stand at the frontlines of democracy, turning abstract policy into concrete action, transforming tax dollars into public services, and bridging divides between diverse residents who share common space.

For citizens who want to make a difference, who care about their communities, and who believe in democracy’s promise, few places offer more opportunity for impact than local government. And at the center of that local government, for better or worse, stands the mayor—a leader whose power derives from and depends upon the engaged participation of residents.

Understanding your mayor’s role isn’t just academic—it’s practical citizenship in action. So the next time you see your mayor at a public event or making headlines, you’ll know not just what they’re doing, but what they can do, why it matters, and how you can make your voice heard in shaping your community’s future.

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