Long-time Congressman and former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill popularized the phrase “All politics is local,” calling attention to the robust influence local interests and issues can have on decision-making at the federal and state levels. Whitehall Mayor Jim Nowalk will take a similar perspective as he shares his observations and experiences based on 37 years of service to several local governments. Mayor Nowalk believes that local government is, in many ways, a model of American democracy and as such, can offer lessons from which the federal and state governments could benefit. With the political and social turmoil created by the 2016 presidential campaigns and the failure of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania to adopt a 2015-16 budget, these lessons in efficient and effective governance from local municipal governments may well provide the solutions for which the American people and the citizens of Pennsylvania are searching.

Mayor Jim Nowalk is a 1970 graduate of Baldwin High School and a 1974 graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he received a BA in government. After graduating from Duquesne University’s School of Law in 1978, he was hired as an Assistant County Solicitor for Allegheny County, assigned to John J. Kane Hospital. He later served as the Executive Director of the four Kane Regional Centers. He has been an attorney in private practice since 1989.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx