City Hall Fellows

Two weeks ago we took a look at the Better Government Association, an organization that “works for integrity, transparency, and accountability in government by exposing corruption and inefficiency; identifying and advocating effective public policy.” While shining the light on government misdeeds is one way to make things better, it won’t fix everything. We need better people working in our governments. My idea is to instate a political draft, but I’m not sure that will ever fly. City Hall Fellows offers a more reasonable approach. They’re a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that engages “diverse, talented young people in the work of cities.”

You Don’t Need to Get Elected to Get to City Hall

According to City Hall Fellows, only about 6% of you are considering a career in the government. My take is that this is a rational response to the way our government has worked over the last few decades, but City Hall Fellows is not okay with that. They want you, the country’s emerging leaders, to give government another chance. Here’s the City Hall Fellows founder’s 90 second pitch on why their program is important (click through to watch the videos):

And here’s a brief overview of the program from past participants:

City Hall Fellows is a yearlong paid fellowship program that gives new and recent graduates “firsthand experience in using local government to drive social change.” Fellows become full-time city employees and over half continue to work in government after the year is up. The deadline for applying is March 14th, so check out the Application page and see if City Hall Fellows is a good fit for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• CityHallFellows.org
• Apply to Be a City Hall Fellow
• About City Hall Fellows
• City Hall Fellows’ Program
• City Hall Fellows’ Blog
• City Hall Fellows News

What do you think about City Hall Fellows?