National League of Cities this Week

In my never ending quest to learn more about being a better mayor (like thats possible) I am attending the National League of Cities Annual Conference in Charlotte NC. I am speaking on blogging on Friday, which got me a comped registration which tipped the scales on me going. I have been to the National Mayors Conference a few years ago and of course I go sometimes to the the Illinois Municpal League as well, so I am currious what this is like. Tommorrow I am attending an all seminar on the following topic:

Public Problems, Democratic Decisions: The Role of Mayors and Council Members
Growth, economic development, animal control, red light cameras, skateboarding, the list goes on. The complexity and time pressures of public office don’t often leave you much time to think through public problems, much less your role in leading and effectively governing your city or town. Even at the local level, public debates are getting more difficult as discussions on important decisions frequently deteriorate into hostilities that leave council members and the community itself very divided. Governance suffers and the community is weakened. When public officials possess a framework for discussing public problems, you are more likely to engage in effective problem solving before you vote, and consequently are at less risk of making false choices. Understand that to make good decisions, councils must use public values to solve problems and identify good public choices. To govern well, learn how you can lead and facilitate public conversations about the values that underlie public problems and choices.
Instructor: Phillip Boyle, President, Leading and Governing Associates, Inc., Adjunct Professor, School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.

Funny side note...I am here to talk on cutting edge technology and the hotel I am in has no internet...so I am blogging via a modem! How stone age, or how ironic!