Threats and Emergencies

The Challenges of 2020

Presidential messaging is very critical for effectively combatting public health pandemics all the way to our cities’ neighborhoods. Conflicting public health messaging coming from the federal and local governments has lethal consequences. Countries in Africa and Asia that have less sophisticated healthcare systems than us, but where their chief executives and local leaders were on the same page with clear and firm messaging, collaborative action, and science-backed guidance, have had better success at mitigating COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Adapting in 2021

The most important next step to take in 2021 and beyond is educating our residents about sacrificing one’s self for others. Among major U.S. cities, the city and county of San Francisco has been relatively more successful at mitigation because of the self-sacrificing tone and theme of their initiatives. To encourage mask wearing, plastered all over the city and its webpages are multilingual signs that say: “I got you covered. I protect you. You protect me.”

Opportunity

Vertically, opportunities to strengthen inter-governmental relations, communications, and actions have emerged. Horizontally, COVID-19 has exposed the regional interconnectedness of cities and counties that is especially apparent during threats and emergencies. Vulnerabilities are opportunities to better plan for the next ones.

Key Takeaway

Our profession is experiencing an unprecedented clamor for better and more sincere inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. Whether it’s health pandemics or climate change–induced disasters and emergencies, we need to recognize that the most severely impacted citizens are the low-income, the elderly, black and brown communities, those without health insurance, persons with disabilities, homeless veterans, and other marginalized populations. We cannot just read and think about them. We must walk our talk.

“We need to recognize that the most severely impacted residents are those from marginalized populations. We cannot just read and think about them. We must walk our talk.”

JAY GONZALEZ, PhD, a long-time ICMA member, is Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He served as San Francisco immigrant rights commissioner for close to a decade.