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As the mayor of the nation's most culturally and racially diverse city, Riordan takes a hard-nosed business approach that includes constant coalition building. "The name of the game is bipartisanship," says the mayor, "and I would hope people see me as a bipartisan problem solver because these are human issues, not political issues." Riordan's alliance with the city's first black police chief, Willie Williams, has helped build bridges to minority communities. "Riordan's positive relationship with Williams is one of the great strengths as far as the black community is concerned," says Charles E. Blake, the influential pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ.
In cities like Los Angeles and Houston, the mayors rally support for their programs by including a huge dollop of public safety measures in their reforms. Rudy Giuliani has done the same thing to similar effect. But budget watchdogs claim that the police and fire agencies he has spared from budget cuts are as ripe for fat trimming as any other. Echoing his counterparts elsewhere in the country, the mayor reiterated that crime control was not negotiable. "Public safety is the critical issue for all New Yorkers and for all people who are going to visit New York or consider visiting New York. We're going to spare nothing to keep them safe."
But while Rendell and Lanier -- and, to some extent, Riordan -- have established their beachheads against the old cultures of city hall, Giuliani has only just begun. He is a Republican in a Democratic town, facing a Democratic city council. Days before his budget announcement, Giuliani bowed to public pressure by restoring the department of AIDS services, which was slated to be cut. While he may be acting like a manager, the mayor knows that sometimes he still needs to be a politician.