Rooftop views and broad horizons with the Lord Mayor of York

The view from the roof of The Lord Mayor of York's mansion house is spectacular!  "I feel like Mary Poppins!" my colleague Ken exclaims as we gaze out over the cathedral, cobblestone streets, and walled city of York in England.

I haven't tumbled down the rabbit hole.  I am really standing on the roof with the Mayor of York. This was NOT how we were expecting our educational collaboration meeting to end. Like most Americans, what I know about the tangle of English political structures is very limited, but I imagine that this encounter with Julie Gunnell, The Lord Mayor, would have even surprised her fellow countrymen.

In order to create a civic engagement program for our Signature Program students, we have had to QUICKLY come to understand the educational, social, political, and economic systems that characterize this country. Google searches can only take you so far. In a tremendous stroke of luck a colleague found The Lord Mayor's email in an online paper, wrote to tell her we were trying to forge educational partnerships in North Yorkshire, and two weeks later we are sitting in the "yellow room" having tea and biscuits with a Sheriff, council person, and the Lord Mayor.  No monogrammed stationary required. 

Here's a whirlwind tour of York: 

1) The capital of North Yorkshire (a north central county of England) it has evolved from a predominantly manufacturing town to an economy based on service provision and tourism.

2) "It punches above it's weight." This from Janet Looker, a councillor who's focus is education. She explained that despite it's size and northern location, it is a small economic power house with lower than average unemployment.

3)  Though it enjoys a relatively strong economy compared to the rest of the country, people are getting priced out through gentrification, just like many other urban areas around the globe.  Affordable housing developments are limited by strict building and historic preservation regulations and building in the "greenbelt" that immediately surrounds the city is also restricted.

4) Despite these challenges, it has tremendous resources: a beautiful cathedral, two universities, a famous race track, a vibrant volunteer sector, and a new mayor that is poised to meet any challenges head on.  

And here's what you ought to know about The Lord Mayor of York: 

1) She is second only in precedence to The Lord Mayor of London. Though the nuance of the explanation alludes me, apparently not every city has a mayor.

2) Mayors are appointed, not elected.  They must have served on the city council  for at least 5 years.  Whichever political party is in the majority, The Lord Mayor will come from their party.

3) They serve for a year during which time they are NOT a political figure so much as a ambassador/fundraiser/PR face of the party.

4) Any mayor will choose at least two charities they highlight and raise money for during their term.  The Lord Mayor's are related to domestic violence and alternative education.

 Though these facts are important, I learned more from the informal engagement with the person herself. After our meeting, tour, and rooftop adventure, The Lord Mayor offered to personally escort us on a walking tour of York. As we exited the mansion, a tall lanky man wearing an infant in a baby Bjorn pointed to The Lord Mayor and exclaimed: "Look, honey! It's the woman in the picture!" The Lord Mayor laughed, greeted him warmly and then introduced us to him. This man, it turns out, is one of The Lord Mayor's fellow councilmen and, she confides as we walk away, the person who nominated her for her current position as Mayor; this despite the fact that he is from a different political party than her own. 

So, I mused, it's not just we wild Americans that get this adventurous, celebratory, and authentic engagement with The Lord Mayor. In fact, not just she, but everyone we met defied the British stereotypes of stiff formality or slow to warm personalities.  Instead, The Lord Mayor ate sandwiches (on white bread) at the university cafe.  The Sheriff of York, Brian Watson, explained that he was putting cases on pillows before our meeting. (He also gave me the York pin off his lapel when I said I wanted to find one as a souvenir for my dad). And Anne, who is the coordinator and manager when any Lord Mayor comes into office, confessed that she would happily give us a tour of the mansion except that she always gets the dates and facts wrong. What is the world coming to?!

And isn't it wonderful.  Here is the beauty of a flattening world...more shared horizons.  Despite the impressive titles, historic surroundings, and priceless relics lying about, The Lord Mayor and her colleagues on that roof were just as delighted and saw just as many opportunities for their community as we did for ours through this partnership.  We all marveled at the shared view together.  After our tour, as we said our farewells to The Lord Mayor, my colleague Ken shook her hand and said, "This city is so lucky to have you." It is. And we are, too.