The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A13

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 NEWS THE BALTIMORE SUN 13 Rebuilding Baltimore with CitiStat levels. But it can mean much more than that Imagine a city in which every resident has the same information as the mayor. Imagine being able to participate direcdy not only in the big decisions, like the city budget, but in the thousands of smaller decisions that cities make every day, like which properties to raze. Baltimore could be run in an open and collaborative way, where every resident not only has a vote, but also has a voice and the tools to improve and change the communities where they live and work. Consider New Orleans: The city re-habbed or demolished over 10,000 derelict houses in three years through a program called BlightStat New Orleans centralized decision-maldng streamlined the seizure of properties, and set up funds to help owners get buildings back into compliance.

But, most importantly, it opened up the process, so residents could report, track and help intervene with derelict properties. New Orleans is now a national leader in managing blight A bit of recent history here: BlightStat, believe it or not, originated here in Baltimore. Fifteen years ago, then-Mayor Martin O'Malley started an innovative program called CitiStat, following a straightforward methodology: Collect, share and track information; make timely decisions based on proven results; and enforce accountability from city agency heads through an open process. If imitation is the best measure of success, CitiStat was a huge success. It went national, and now CitiStat is being used by cities all over the United States, including New Orleans, where they started BlightStat.

CitiStat won the prestigious Harvard Innovation in Government Award and is used in course work as a shining example at the Kennedy School of Government While CitiStat spread throughout the nation, it was allowed to languish here in Baltimore. It went years without a qualified leader. The number of accountability sessions dropped precipitously, and City Hall stopped making them a priority. The program fell behind new technological developments, went without a director for long periods, and lost its most important aspect its teeth. After years of neglect, what is truly required is bigger vision and renewed commitment by the city to leverage data, hold agency heads accountable and drive results.

Managing for results through CitiStat will not only improve city services, it will save precious taxpayer dollars at the same time. The city could also save millions of dollars by modernizing the management of the largest capital construction projects. This work should be centralized into one shop, staffed by certified professional project managers with deep experience in project risk management, construction deliverables and budgeting. This would mean better accountability from contractors, and it would allow the city departments to focus on delivering services for residents. Whether road and infrastructure projects, recreational center construction, or demolition of vacant housing to make way for future economic development, the city must develop a solution that incorporates certified project management professionals to maximize every dollar, reduce cost overruns and improve outcomes.

Agile use of data and evidence can bring big changes for the good. Using data as a tool to understand our city's challenges and opportunities means we can afford to set aside politics and invest in what works. We can calmly and deliberately begin to solve the seemingly intractable problems plaguing our Baltimore for decades. We can attack the very roots of intergenerational poverty and actually succeed. Drug addiction, childhood hunger, joblessness and violence are all products of poor policy, and we can fix that Getting CitiStat back up and running is a good first step.

But we can do even more. Imagine a city government that does more than fill potholes but instead, through direct collaboration with its residents, builds a community in which every member participates in decision making, where problems big and small get resolved, and everyone can equally pursue their dreams. The technology exists to make this a reality in Baltimore, what we need now is the political will. Nick Mosby, a Democrat, represents District 7 on the Baltimore City Council; his email is Nick.Mosbybaltimorecity.gov. By Nick Mosby may live in the era of big data and enhanced applications, but the City of Baltimore is still buying filing cabinets and shuffling paper.

Our city government lumbers along, struggling with both complex urban problems, like vacant properties, and small problems, like issuing permits. It does neither well for small businesses or residents, and we must do better to realize our true potential. This year will be forever remembered as one of the most chaotic in our city's storied history. The polarized conversation about the root cause of the unrest that boiled over on April 27 will continue for decades and be studied by academia and social scientists for years to come. Residents across Baltimore have plenty of differing opinions about how we arrived at this point, but there is one thing that on which most agree: As a city, we were not prepared.

At its core, government's mission is to make sure that it provides the most effective and efficient services for residents, businesses and communities. To do so requires constant attention to best practices, new technologies and, most importantly, a sense of urgency. City government's failure to evolve and modernize is readily apparent. In just the last few years, there have been stark examples: the slow-motion debacle to upgrade its antiquated phone system, the inadequate Department of Finance printer that crippled residential home sales for a week, and the lack of user-friendly interfaces to city services. These failures represent millions of wasted dollars, missed opportunities and consistent delivery of substandard results.

Frustrating the situation further is the availability of a bounty of more affordable, more versatile, and overall better options. I know because I am an electrical engineer who builds information management systems for big telecommunication companies for a living. I make connections between people and information, and I understand what the storage cloud and the rapidly expanding ability to collect and exploit data could mean to Baltimore. Certainly more data and faster computers can mean better city services at all Hillary Clinton's fresh start By Jules Witcover a sense, after all the tribulations of her rather erratic 2016 presidential campaign ldckoff, Hillary Clinton went back to square one the other day. After much verbal bobbing and weaving, she finally came right out and said she had made a mistake using a private Internet server as secretary of state that had raised suspicions about her secrecy and trustworthiness.

She abandoned a somewhat churlish and even flippant manner toward the whole business and pivoted smartly to fulsome exposition of her support for President Barack Obama's nuclear disarmament deal with Iran, discussing how as president she would implement it. She offered a modification of Ronald Reagan's formula of "trust, but verify" to read "distrust, and verify." She tipped her hat to Democratic hawks, acknowledging that Iran rulers had proved in the past that they were capable of deception, and flatly labeled Iran "a ruthless, brutal regime." She categorically observed that as president, she would "not hesitate to take military action" to ensure that it never obtains a nuclear weapon While defending Mr. Obama's trademark determination to use diplomacy as his prime response to armed conflict, Ms. Clinton observed that "diplomacy is not the pursuit of perfection" but rather "the balancing of risk" that she would prudently weigh. In mild criticism of her former boss, she put some distance between herself and Mr.

Obama on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his land grabs in Crimea and Ukraine, and she took note of reports of Russian presence in Syria She told her audience at the Brookings Institution that "we need a concerted effort to up the costs on Russia and Putin" for such adventures, adding the reminder that "I am in the camp that we have not done enough," and that "I don't think we can dance around it much longer." Ms. Clinton also took care to re-emphasize her long commitment to Israel, by drawing a contrast with Mr. Obama's snub of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came to Washington to call on Congress direcdy to reject the nuclear deal with Iran. She said that as president, she would invite Mr. Netanyahu to the Oval Office in her first month, adding that "Israel had every reason to be alarmed by a regime that both denies its existence and seeks its destruction." In all this, Mr.

Obama's first secretary of state seemed to be acknowledging her early role in getting the Iran talks under way. She gave skeptical listeners assurances that as president she would be a harsh taskmaster in holding the Iranians to account for fulfilling their obligations under the deal and in all other dealings with them in the Middle East. Politically, at home and in her own party, Ms. Clinton still bears the scars of having been on the wrong side in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Her support of President George W.

Bush's 2002 authorization for use of force, which she later said was mistaken, was stoutly opposed by then-Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her tenacious challenger for the 2016 presidential nomination. Her present endorsement of the Iran nuclear deal maintains an uneasy relationship with the president and administration she formerly served, and offers an immediate diversion into the realm of serious policy discussion from her recent personal distractions. Beyond the appeal of her candidacy to women who are committed to making her the first female president, Ms. Clinton needs to offer more substance to her contention that she is as ready to assume the governance of the country as her fervent supporters are ready to give her the awesome job she's after.

In winning New York's Senate seat in 2000, she undertook a rigorous listening tour of the state that paid off. She has been taking the same route in key primary states this year, but with little opposition until Mr. Sanders caught fire, at times threatening to outshine her. In 2008, she similarly was outshone by Barack Obama in Iowa until she found footing in New Hampshire, shed appearances of a coronation, and made a fight of it. She is facing the same situation now, and seems, on the strength of her Brookings foreign-policy speech, to be gearing up to address the challenge more directly than before.

Jules Witcover is a syndicated columnist and former longtime writer for The Baltimore Sun. His latest book is "The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power" (Smithsonian Books). His email is juleswitcovercomcast.net. The 'rock star' pope LUIS ACOSTAAFPGETTY IMAGES Pope Francis arrives to give a morning mass at the Calixto Garcia square in Holguin, in eastern Cuba, Monday. Despite his popularity, the substance of Pope Francis' words are similar to his predecessors By William E.

Lori elcome, Pope Francis! The clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the nation's first Catholic diocese, join millions of other Catholics and people of all faiths in welcoming our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to the United States. I am privileged to represent our Archdiocese among those who will greet the Holy Father upon his arrival today and at several events during his visit, including the Mass of Canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra Anticipation of the visit of Pope Francis has increased as his arrival draws nearer. Many say he has a "rock star" quality about him. I presume that's a good thing! He is extraordinarily popular among people of all faiths and ages and for many reasons. He embraces simplicity, exudes humility and speaks frequently of the need to care for the poor, die marginalized and the environment.

His emphasis on mercy (he has called for a worldwide Year of Mercy in the church beginning this December) has caused many to rethink how they feel about the Catholic Church, which has a long history of bringing the mercy of Christ to those she serves, whether in the fields of health care, education or charitable outreach and to see the many contributions the Catholic Church makes to the common good. This pope has been a pope of surprises since his first days in office. He goes out at night to personally tend to the poor of Rome, made a detour in his first official trip to South America to visit some of the poorest villages there, gives impromptu and candid interviews to members of the media, and elected to live in more simple and humble quarters. In his public interactions he often gravitates toward those who seemingly need more than others the touch and care of Christ's Vicar on Earth, and his grandfatherly and accessible personality and tone make him irresistible and magnetic to most everyone. than 1,000 local Catholics will board buses and train cars to be with an estimated L5 million other pilgrims for the pope's Mass in the City of Brotherly Love.

And several hundred local Catholics will be in Washington, DC, for the Mass on Wednesday. Those unable to attend the Philadelphia Mass are invited to the lawn of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen to watch the Mass and enjoy dinner together. And many other activities are planned here in the archdiocese to mark the occasion. In response to the Holy Father's example of selfless service to others, we are partnering with Catholic Charities to encourage people to serve in one of several charitable outreach programs during the pope's visit. A list of opportunities can be found at www.archbalt.org, and we pray his visit will inspire Catholics and others to "serve like Francis." May the visit of Pope Francis be a blessing to the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and to people of all faiths throughout our nation.

Ironically, the substance of the pope's words are not so different from his predecessors. People are often surprised to hear that Pope Francis has not altered Church teaching. In fact, he affirms the long-held teachings of the Catholic Church, whether speaking about the environment, the poor, caring for migrants, and what he calls the "culture of waste" or affirming traditional marriage, calling for the protection of religious liberty and promoting the sanctity of all human life. Because of his tone and humility, his words are often mistaken as signaling a change in direction. Regardless, he has caused people to hear the church's teaching with "fresh ears" and to understand that her teachings are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not as a set of burdensome rules but as a response to God's love for each of us.

Twenty years after the historic visit to Baltimore of St. Pope John Paul II, we are encouraging the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore to celebrate the visit of Pope Francis by participating in as many of the official events as possible whether in Washington, DC. or in Philadelphia More William E. Lori is Archbishop of Baltimore. He can be reached at communicationsarchbalt.org.

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