The best mayors in U.S. history have been great characters—showmen
and radicals and bullies and rebels. Then again, so have the worst.
Fiorello LaGuardia, who ruled New York from 1934 to ’45, besides
reforming and rebuilding his city, was famous for smashing slot
machines with a sledgehammer and reading the comics to children over
the radio during a newspaper strike. On the other hand, Chicago’s
William Thompson, first elected in 1915, kept a picture of
his good buddy Al Capone on his office wall and once conducted a
debate between himself and two white rats, which he placed onstage to
represent his political opponents.
It is tempting to judge our mayors for the little things that make
city life livable, the depth of the potholes, the smell of the
streets, whether or not the traffic lights are in synch. But the best
mayors have also been those who act on a grand scale, building
bridges, saving schools, finding the funds that cities forever lack.
TIME consulted with urban experts to choose the best among the
leaders of America’s most challenging cities, those with
populations over half a million—a crop that brings in six
Republicans, 22 Democrats and one unaffiliated mayor. That cutoff
excluded mayors like Randy Kelly of St. Paul, Minn. ,
who has slashed crime 30% in 31/2 years. Our top performers range
from Chicago’s imperial Richard Daley, who after 16 years is widely
viewed as the nation’s top urban executive, to newcomer John
Hickenlooper, the beer brewer who closed Denver’s worst budget gap
ever without major staff or service cuts. Since good policy invites
imitation, their most successful tactics may soon be coming to a city
near you.
