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Magazine names O'Malley to list of best mayors
5 praised for leadership of largest U.S. cities
 
By Anica Butler
Sun Staff

April 18, 2005

Calling Mayor Martin O'Malley both telegenic and brash, Time magazine has named him one of the five best big-city mayors in America.

In the issue that hits newsstands today, O'Malley is praised for ensuring that thousands of the city's elderly had supplies during winter snows and credited with helping bring Baltimore to "the cusp of a renaissance."

O'Malley was chosen from among 29 mayors of cities with populations over 500,000 - what the magazine calls "America's most challenging cities."

Accomplishments both big and small were considered.

"Time editors considered a range of factors, consulting urban experts, people in communities across the country as well as our own reporting resources to determine the list," said Ty Trippet, a magazine spokesman.

The article calls CitiStat, O'Malley's computerized system for monitoring the performance of city agencies, an urban innovation. The article also credits O'Malley with helping slow the city's population decline and ushering in new commercial development. The story also notes that "O'Malley has only slightly dented the murder rate."

Rounding out the list of best big-city mayors are New York's Michael R. Bloomberg, Atlanta's Shirley Franklin, Chicago's Richard M. Daley and Denver's John Hickenlooper. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom garnered an honorable mention.

The article also lists the worst big-city mayors. According to Time, they are Detroit's Kwame Kilpatrick, Philadelphia's John Street and San Diego's Dick Murphy.

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