Pandemic Politics, Free-For-All Federalism and Realigned Intergovernmental Relations:
COVID-19’s New Normal?

The COVID-19 crisis has increased concerns about the balance of power between the federal government and state governments in the United States.At each stage of the mitigation process,states have acted opportunistically to secure testing and medical supplies, hospital beds, restrict activities, and close/reopen their economies.Meanwhile, the federal government has vacillated wildly between permissive federalism and state-rights models in response to the pandemic. This conversation will center on whether and how American federalism might or should change in a post-coronavirus world.

Presenters:

Thomas O’Toole, Executive Director at CIPA,teaches CIPA's core course on "Issues in Public Administration,"a seminar on "Comparative Public Administration:The Case of Seoul, Korea,"and has collaborated on projects and educational programming with the White House, the United Nations Division of Public Administration and Development Management, the UN World Food Programme, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.He holds an MPA from CIPA, and an MA and Ph.D. in Government from Cornell.

Dan Lamb, Lecturer at CIPA, draws on two decades of federal, state, and local governing experience to lead courses such as Politics, Policy and Political Management, which examines how partisan politics compromises policymaking, and Intergovernmental Relations, which explores historic and contemporary tensions between the levels government.  Lamb is a 2018-19 Faculty Fellow in Engaged Learning and currently serves as deputy supervisor for the town of Dryden, NY.