Maybe something's the matter with Lawrence

John Nichols, an editor for the Capital Times and Washington corresponent for The Nation, has a great article about progressive movements in urban areas around the U.S. Nichols highlights Lawrence, Kansas, a town located in the heart of conservative America (as identified in Thomas Frank's book "What's the Matter with Kansas")that recently elected a strongly progressive mayor.

Variations on the Lawrence story are playing out across the country, with local leaders and coalitions shaping a new, more aggressive politics in what has begun to be referred to as an "urban archipelago" of major metropolitan centers, aging industrial cities and college towns that represent progressive blue islands in what appears on electoral maps to be a red sea of conservatism.

Nichols also talks with Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz about the threats of corporatism facing the city leaders.

"Local governments are the only place where progressive ideas can get any traction--where big ideas are being tried," says Madison, Wisconsin, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, 46, a former chief of staff in a State Senate office and an environmental leader who was elected in 2003. "Cities are where you can break through the big money, the media spin--everything that is wrong with our politics--and capture the public's imagination." Unfortunately, he says, traditional organizations of local officials have been slow to catch the wave of municipal resistance to the nation's conservative moment. "I went to my first US Conference of Mayors meeting after I got elected, and I was horrified. The corporate influence was pervasive," Cieslewicz says, recalling a dinner where toy trucks featuring the Waste Management, Inc. logo served as party favors. "Here we were, with education, transportation and housing programs that are essential for cities facing cuts, and I just didn't see the sense of urgency."