ABSTRACT
This practitioner’s perspective draws on over 30 years of service in elective office on the Hyattsville, MD City Council, as Council Member and County Executive of Prince Georges County Maryland, and as two-term Governor of Maryland. Over this time, the intergovernmental system has disappeared and needs to be reestablished. The once-prominent institutions that worked to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration, identify emerging issues, and discern impacts of policy decisions and actions are long-gone and “fend-for-yourself” increasingly characterizes the state of intergovernmental relationships. Several examples are provided of how the partners in the federal system once worked well together across local and state lines and with federal agencies and legislators in major projects such as the expansion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay. Three major areas call out for intergovernmental action—income inequality, infrastructure renewal, and environmental protection. These will not be successfully addressed unless a systemic approach to intergovernmental relations is restored and revitalized.
