Renewing Citizen Service

A short list of reforms, some of which require elected leaders to forgo or relax traditional prerogatives, can yield dramatic improvements in the political appointment process and in the quality of people willing to enter public service at the highest levels. A short list of reforms, some of which require elected leaders to forgo or relax traditional prerogatives, can yield dramatic improvements in the political appointment process and in the quality of people willing to enter public service at the highest levels. Nothing can undo decades of cynicism and deterioration of the appointment process in a moment. Overcoming that legacy will require leaders on both sides to come together to make public service more attractive. No other issue deserves bipartisan attention more than the need to renew citizen service as a basic democratic duty.