Office of the Mayor: Sibling City Pilot with Palo Alto

The Challenge

Many municipal challenges are universal across United States cities and towns. But, so too are innovations that arise from such challenges. With polarized political discourse normalized, it becomes all too easy to forget to listen and gain empathy for others. Diversity of opinions is not always viewed as a source of strength, and sometimes it is difficult to generate dialogue across differing perspectives. Many Americans are tired of the division. So Vicki Veenker, a Palo Alto attorney, mediation expert, and Indiana University alumna, piqued the curiosity of Bloomington’s leaders with an opportunity to engage in an innovative response to these common challenges in the form of a pilot for Sibling Cities USA. 

The Idea

Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois and Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton proposed to establish a Sibling Cities relationship, the first domestic relationship of its kind between United States cities. The relationship seeks to foster community building, further goodwill, and enhance civic dialogue and public policy discussions in the two cities through a new organization, Sibling Cities USA. The Palo Alto and Bloomington City Council’s approved the proposal in November and December 2021.  

The proposed pilot Sibling City relationship will be guided by Sibling Cities USA’s three pillars of Connection: Community, Commerce, and Civil Discourse. These guiding principles establish a framework for relationship building and community connectedness. The goal is for the partnership to generate productive relationships that result from the conversation, interaction, and understanding. 

The Cost

Local committees will form in each city to connect community organizations and build programs to expand public awareness and generate impact within each city. The committees will include representatives from local government, service organizations, schools and universities, and other community leaders. The committees would report at the one-year mark to each City Council identifying the progress and prospects for an ongoing program.

So this program’s cost is yet to be determined and will depend on the project budgets generated by these breakout committees. 

The relationship will likely call for an exchange trip out to Palo Alto in early 2022, but at this time that is the only specific cost that will be incurred. 

The Benefit

Mayors DuBois and Hamilton share intentions to advance together toward a new partnership, community to community. 

“I am thrilled to recommend establishing a Sibling City relationship between Palo Alto and Bloomington and thank the City of Bloomington for their leadership in creating this innovative partnership,” said Tom DuBois, mayor of Palo Alto. “I’ve felt that our country could really benefit from a program that encourages building bridges from coast to heartland.  We can learn from each other and seek ways to combine our strengths for the benefit of the country...” 

John Hamilton, mayor of Bloomington, said “I believe this new relationship can significantly benefit the residents of our respective communities for years to come, with mutual learning and collaborations. We can imagine a focus on priorities such as community engagement, sustainability, and economic and business opportunities...Connecting together as communities is more important than ever, as we recover from the pandemic and address big challenges ahead.”   

Metadata

City Department: Office of the Mayor

Point of Contact: Yael Ksander 

Partners: City of Palo Alto

Partner Point of Contact: Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, City of Palo Alto Chief Communications Officer, 650-329-2607, Meghan.Horrigan-Taylor@cityofpaloalto.org

Date Implemented: November/December 2021

Type of Innovation: New Service