Good Government Files

Why the Deep Dive Is Going Bi-Weekly (It’s the Book)

I’m making time to finish ‘The Infrastructure of Trust,’ and I could use your help testing the AI worksheets that go with it.

Oct 9 • Will Hampton

You Don't Need Permission to Lead

What one Georgia city shows us about listening first and leading from where you sit.

Oct 2 • Will Hampton

2

September 2026

How I Use AI (and Why I'm Telling You)

A straight account of what AI does across my newsletter, where I draw the line, and why it matters

Sep 18 • Will Hampton

10

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A Profession Taking a Beating and Not Backing Down

Field notes from 3CMA in Denver: burnout, budget politics, and AI use that's evolving faster than the rules for it

Sep 11 • Will Hampton

22

Good Communication Leaves Receipts

The trolls are not going away. Answering them well is a skill. Building the system behind it is the real work. Part two of the two-part series finale.

Sep 4 • Will Hampton

19

August 2026

Where the Nastiest Comments Get a Warm Reply

How Round Rock’s Austin Ellington has answered a city’s angriest residents, one comment at a time, for 11 years. Part one of the two-part series finale.

Aug 28 • Will Hampton

24

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The Troll Who Started Defending the City

Second in a three-part series on managing the negativity in local government feeds. League City invites its loudest critics to the table instead of…

Aug 21 • Will Hampton

16

Answer the Anger Before It Reaches the Comments

The first in a three-part series on cities managing the negativity that comes with local government social media. Georgetown goes first, and widest.

Aug 14 • Will Hampton

18

A Break, a Tease, and a Bobblehead

A quick note to let you know there’s no Deep Dive this Friday as we’re taking a little late summer vacay here at GGF HQ.

Aug 7 • Will Hampton

6

July 2026

A City Can Outlast Construction. Its Small Businesses Can't.

How Wentzville, Mo., turned years of torn-up roads into a campaign its local shops could actually use.

Jul 31 • Will Hampton

18

The Future, By the People

What happens when local governments stop planning for their communities and start imagining the future with them

Jul 24 • Will Hampton

19

1

You Already Know What's Coming. You Haven't Thought About It Like This.

Strategic foresight gives leaders a disciplined way to face what they can already see, and act while there's still room to steer.

Jul 17 • Will Hampton

18

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