WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - October 26, 2010) - GOVERNING announced the top state and local government officials who are being honored for leadership and excellence as GOVERNING's 2010 Public Officials of the Year. In its 17th year, the annual awards program recognizes leaders from state, city and county government for outstanding accomplishment in their department/agency, community or state.
"These dynamic state, city and county public officials faced both economic and political challenges," said GOVERNING Publisher Fred Kuhn. "Through their collective vision, these eight leaders worked to better not only their communities but set an example for future leaders to follow."
GOVERNING's 2010 Public Officials of the Year include:
Mick Cornett, Mayor, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, began with a plan to reduce obesity in his city -- 43,000 participating residents have already lost over 600,000 pounds -- and parlayed that into a grand vision for remaking the downtown into a sustainable, walkable core, culminating last year with a voter-approved, $777 million plan to fund sidewalks, a new 70-acre park, a new streetcar system and extensive network of new bike lanes.
J. Wm. Covington, Superintendent, Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools, transformed an underachieving school district by making tough decisions that combined cost-cutting measures, including the closure of more than two dozen schools, and eliminating hundreds of jobs, with a new, standards-based education improvement program that is showing promising results.
J. Stephen Fletcher, Chief Information Officer, State of Utah, has built a widely acclaimed digital infrastructure that supports shared services, consolidates redundant computer systems, helps remote workers across a large, rural area and has moved more services online than just about any other state, making Utah's website nationally recognized as one of the best in government.
Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, former Planning Director, City of Miami, Florida, was the driving force in designing Miami 21, the nation's most ambitious New Urbanist zoning code, which incorporates walkability, sustainability and the preservation of existing structures citywide, shaping Miami's future as a sustainable place to live.
Sonny Perdue, Governor, State of Georgia, used his business-savvy leadership skills to turn Georgia into one of the best managed states in the country and confronted two of the most difficult challenges facing Georgia -- shepherding landmark transportation funding and water conservation bills through the legislature -- while keeping the state's fiscal house in order.
Rep. Diana S. Urban, State of Connecticut, was the architect and prime mover behind Results Based Accountability legislation, which requires all Connecticut state agencies to submit performance metrics along with budgets -- the first legislation of its kind in the United States.
Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Jerry A. Madden, State of Texas, teamed up to oppose funding another round of prison building in Texas, the world center of incarceration; opting for a smaller investment in treatment and diversion that has since become a model for corrections reformers everywhere.
Public Officials of the Year are selected from nominations submitted by readers, experts in the public and private sectors and the GOVERNING editorial team. Among the qualities recognized are leadership, courage, innovation, creativity and good management. Award winners are profiled in the November issue of the magazine and on governing.com. They will be honored at a dinner at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C. on November 18, hosted by GOVERNING and sponsored by Citrix, Motorola and Oracle.
Visit http://www.governing.com/poy/
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