THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 22, 1994 TAG: 9411220607
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, well-known for his innovations in city government, told the region's leaders on Monday that cooperation, competition and a change in attitudes are key to a healthy community.
The Economics Club of Hampton Roads and the College of Business and Public Administration at Old Dominion University brought Schmoke to Norfolk to talk about urban and regional economic policy.
Schmoke said cooperation is vital to an area's economy.
``Some see cities as a drain on their metropolitan area,'' Schmoke said. ``But cities remain the cultural and intellectual centers of the country. Cities and suburbs are joined at the hip.''
Schmoke said studies show that when an urban core is prosperous, its suburbs also see a rise in income levels; as wealth wanes in the inner-city, it also declines in the suburbs.
``The answer is not to demonize cities,'' Schmoke said. ``The answer is to work cooperatively. Regional planning is critical.''
But, Schmoke admitted, it's easier to talk about regional cooperation than to do it. Even in the Baltimore area, where regional projects have been very successful, he said there have been failures. Self-interest often overrides regionalism.
After the meeting, Schmoke said Hampton Roads' success depends on cooperation between the five cities as well as with the military and the business community.
Along with cooperation, Schmoke said competition within government has proven a great tool for improving cities.
He said competition with private schools and with an industry that wants to privatize the public schools seems to have prompted the Baltimore city schools to become better.
Schmoke said test scores have improved in all of the city's schools since the government contracted with a private company to run six public schools.
Scores improved more in the schools run under the public system, however, than those administered by the private outfit, he said.
Finally, he said, government officials must change their attitudes about how to solve problems.
Schmoke, a former U.S. Attorney and Maryland state attorney for Baltimore, said government officials must consider such radical ideas as decriminalizing drugs and allowing the medical community to regulate them.
He said more emphasis should be placed on crime prevention. While he was the state's attorney, Schmoke hired a community liaison to make sure his office was responsive to neighborhood concerns.
Since becoming mayor, he has established a private foundation to fund, coordinate and expand literacy programs throughout Baltimore. He also helped found the Baltimore Community Development Financing Corporation, which pools private and public resources and expertise to renovate abandoned houses and to revitalize neighborhoods. by CNB