Balancing Goals, Authority and Community Expectations (with Corey Woods) | Ep. 21
Balancing Goals, Authority and Community Expectations (with Corey Woods) | Ep. 21  
Podcast: Ground Floor Government
Published On: Thu Nov 20 2025
Description: A delicate balance between accomplishing goals and bringing everybody along runs through this conversation with Tempe Mayor Corey Woods. Host Hugh Plappert opens with Corey’s path from dinner table conversations about foreign and domestic issues to a city council seat at 29 and then the mayor’s chair. Corey explains the council manager form of government, the limits of mayoral authority and how state law and federal directives can preempt local decisions.ㅤHe shares the challenge of starting as mayor in July 2020 at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, governing from behind a laptop while trying to steer the ship with the city council and city manager. Corey walks through Tempe’s Hometown for All affordable housing fund, budgets as a reflection of values and why a robust general fund depends on property tax, sales tax and bed tax revenue. The discussion closes with accessibility, many different channels for community outreach, boards and commissions and invitations for younger people to get involved right now.ㅤ👤 Guest BioCorey Woods is the mayor of Tempe, Arizona. He first moved to Tempe in 2003 to go to graduate school at Arizona State University and was elected to the Tempe City Council in 2008 at the age of 29. Corey has now served a total of 14 years on the council and began his first term as mayor in July 2020, starting in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic. He often describes himself as an extroverted, very expressive person who values civic participation, public service and bringing many different voices to the table.ㅤ📌 What We CoverHow dinner table conversations about foreign and domestic issues and civic participation shaped Corey’s interest in government and public policyThe reality of a council manager form of government, including the difference between a strong mayor model and Tempe’s voter approved city charterWhy the mayor is more like a chairman of the board, what a simple majority on the city council can do and what Corey cannot do unilaterallyHow state preemption, housing bills on middle housing and accessory dwelling units and federal directives can supersede city authorityStarting as mayor in July 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic, governing from behind a computer screen and the impact on an extroverted, people focused styleThe Hometown for All affordable housing fund, creating a sustainable revenue stream and a mindset around affordable housing, workforce housing, home ownership and rental opportunitiesBudgets as a reflection of values, the role of property tax, sales tax and bed tax and why Tempe needs a robust economy to provide services for nearly 200,000 residentsThe tension between picking the lowest bid vendor and delivering systems and services that actually work for residents and business ownersEducation as part of the job, explaining zoning, revenue, preemption and the separation of powers so everyone can read off the same sheet of musicListening to as many people as possible, following a moral compass and North Star, and accepting that a 100 percent approval rating is not realisticAccessibility and outreach through newspapers, television, social media, neighborhood meetings and many different channels for different generationsPathways for young people to get involved through internships at the City of Tempe and service on 28 boards and commissions such as parks and recreation, transportation, economic development and historic preservationㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedCity of Tempe boards and commissionsHometown for All affordable housing fundArizona State UniversityRio Salado CollegeFacebookInstagramXTikTokMeet the Press on NBCArizona RepublicNew York TimesEmail: cory_woods@tempe.gov