We Can’t Appease the Power Brokers : Government: The mayors of other big cities speak out on the tough calls of leadership and their experiences with police.

I am sympathetic toward my friend and colleague Tom Bradley; governing any major American city following the Reagan years of neglect of our urban centers does indeed entail great risks and challenges. The police incident in Los Angeles has given every executive holder of public office reason to pause and take a new look at the civic environment.

Unfortunately, no city is immune from such unfortunate occurrences, but the issue is much broader than police reform in one city. It’s a matter, for all city executives, of moving beyond the old politics of quick-fix remedies and appeasement of political power brokers. That’s the only path to true reform--what I call politics with a horizon.

Whether the issue regards a pay raise, siting a homeless shelter or a decision at odds with powerful special interests, it is the long-term public interest that I must support.