Last Word: Michelle De La Isla
What have you learned from your experience as Mayor?
I’ve learned that all government is local and that it’s beautiful that—for the most part—the process of governing at the local level is nonpartisan. As a mayor, you live with your constituents, you shop with your constituents, and you run into them in the grocery store. When your city is hurting, you are right there with them, sharing in their pain. In the same manner, you also get to celebrate the victories and have fun when great things are happening in the city. There is a level of ownership and pride that comes when you are Mayor that is unlike any other form of government.
I’ve also learned that collaboration was even more important than I initially imagined it to be. Nothing can be achieved in our community without radical inclusion of ideas and experiences. Serving as Mayor has both broken my heart and given me hope in ways that are very close to the emotions you would feel as a parent.
What are you most proud of from your time as Mayor?
I’m extremely proud that all levels of our community have truly embraced inclusiveness over the last few
years. When I first took office, our community’s strategic plan, Momentum 2022, seemed like a lofty, complicated mess—not because of the daunting tasks that it involved, but because of the culture change that it aimed for. I’ve learned over the years that the idea of developing a culture of hope, where all boats rise and re-igniting a sense of pride in our community, is radical and can be difficult to achieve.
If you would have asked me, do you think we can make this happen? Five years ago, I probably would have said that we would give it a good try and work hard at it. Today, wow! Here we are:
• We have a transportation program to help families without cars get to better paying jobs with benefits.
• We have a city flag we are proud to wear and display.
• We have a tech school in the middle of a neighborhood that had little access to education and had not seen development in many years.
• We have worked on our economic incentive strategies to ensure we are bringing organizations to our community that pay a decent wage for our families.
• We built the plaza, redeveloped Downtown, and are working on a new housing strategy because we are selling houses at an extremely fast rate.
• We established and funded a housing trust fund.
• We survived the pandemic, and the city budget had a surplus at the end of 2020.
• We haven’t raised the mil levy in over three years.
• We have over 12 individuals in our community who received training through Harvard to help our community communicate with the same voice and have the support of national organizations who look at Topeka as a model and example.
• Topeka is a Silver Level What Works City, which means we are one of few communities nationwide that has demonstrated excellence in our use of data for city management.
• Our river finally has the weir redone so that people can kayak safely on the Kansas River.
I could keep going. If these successes sound like they are not mine, it’s because they are not. They represent a collaboration of work by many, many individuals who care about the success of our community and working together for the good of all. I have had the privilege of seeing these and more successes during my term, and I look forward to seeing many more.
What do we as a community need to work on? Or that you hope we continue to work on?
The quest for inclusivity and inclusive prosperity is one we must continue forging. Topeka has a big responsibility as the home of Brown v. Board to continue its legacy as the home of desegregation, as the place where the Constitution of the State of Kansas was brought to ensure our state is a free state, and as the homestead where the Exodusters came to settle as free individuals. These things didn’t happen in Topeka coincidentally, they happened in our community because Topekans are exceptional individuals with an internal rudder for doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult.
Today, in a time where we are all so divided over petty things like political parties or basic differences in values and beliefs, we have lost the courage to question. We must take a deep look as a community at who we are as individuals and continue learning from each other in a humble and vulnerable way. We need to ask more of our leaders. We need to expect honesty, integrity and humility from every one of us. We must be hungry for curiosity rather than allow fear or the media to dictate our world view. Topeka has been having difficult conversations about race since 2017 and the challenges different sectors in our community are facing that many don’t see or understand. Topeka can be an example for our country on how to come together and love each other radically with compassion to help our community prosper—ALL of our community.
What are three things you will remember most about your time as Mayor?
• The fatal shooting of Dominique White, and realizing that—even as a woman of color—how little I understood about the challenges minorities face in our communities. The level of stress in learning, listening, and leaning into the issue and the challenging balance of acknowledging the pain our community was feeling while supporting and working with our police department to find ways that we can all learn and become better as a community.
• Being selected by the Bloomberg Harvard City leadership programs as one of 40 mayors across the globe, and how much it has enriched Topeka in resources and support.
• The pandemic; working with one of the best teams I have ever had the privilege of serving with in conjunction with Shawnee County and many sectors of the community. When things got darkest, there would always be a ray of hope from the amazing leaders in this community. You all know who you are.
What advice do you have for Topeka?
Don’t settle! Have you ever talked to a good friend whose life hasn’t been great but they are one of the best people you’ve known, and you see the potential they have before they do? Yep, that is our community. I think that we used to have a pride problem and that is finally changing; we need to realize the gem that we are in the Midwest, and in the country. Our cost of living is spectacular, the opportunity for individuals to succeed and become involved at a leadership level in our community are nearly limitless. Our arts scene is enviable, we have global employers in our back yard, and a bio-agro industry about to boom. We are a community with so much to offer, and each citizen has to own that pride. Don’t stop at Momentum 2022, keep improving and don’t settle. This community is a treasure.
What is next for you, what do you hope to achieve?
When my term is finished, I will have been married to this community for over nine years. I have been investing in this city heavily since 2006/2007 when I became involved with GO Topeka and started working on supporting women- owned businesses, established the first Spanish First Step Fast Track program in our community, and co-hosted a mentorship conference for minority girls alongside my sister and MANA de Topeka that is 12 years strong.
My heart has always leaned towards understanding root causes and diving into the heart of an issue to find solutions. To do this in a systemic, solution-oriented, and sustainable way, you need to understand the public, private and nonprofit sectors. I have been blessed to find the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, where our goal is to impact 300 million lives in positive ways through supporting social entrepreneurs doing good works across the world.
As Managing Director, I will have the privilege of sourcing, advocating for funding, and sitting on the Boards
of organizations who are working to eliminate inequity across all three sectors and make a better world for all.
Finally, I had always dreamed of going back to academia. With both of my girls out of the house next year, I will be going to college, just like them. I am attending Harvard University in 2022 to earn my Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration while I continue my work with the DRK Foundation. I could not be more excited to continue the lifelong process of learning!
