PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Ed Koch. Rudy Guilani. Michael Blomberg.

Well known names all.

And, at least to a degree, they deserve credit for policies and approaches over the years that sparked a revival in the City of New York.

One name who also deserves credit is not well-known.

He is Larry Mone, who has announced his retirement after 23 years as executive director of the Manhattan Institute.

Here is what Wall Street Journal editorial writers said about his contributions:

“The city has since undergone a renaissance due in no small part to the ideas generated by the Manhattan Institute (MI). The mayors who pulled this off—Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg —could not have done so without the intellectual ammunition provided by MI.

“Many think tanks labor in Washington. MI has made a particular contribution by focusing on how conservative solutions can solve urban problems. It’s no coincidence that MI published ‘Fixing Broken Windows,’ which popularized the work by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling arguing that addressing pockets of disorder and even small crimes is crucial to effective policing. New York is now the safest big city in America.”

As Mone announced that he was stepping down from his post, he said “he had the privilege of leading a first-rank think tank devoted to free market principles located in the midst of one of the world’s great cities.”

“For New York,” Mone added, “it has generally been a period of rebirth— from the publication of Fixing Broken Windows in 1996, to assisting the city with the development of a municipal counter-terrorism strategy in the aftermath of 9/11, to shaping an effort to rezone large swathes of the city’s long-neglected industrial spaces, the Institute has provided no modest portion of the intellectual energy that brought New York back to its feet. We have also driven major policy change at the state and national levels, leading on issues from school choice and charter schools, to the health care marketplace, to the role of law enforcement in our society. “

To state what may be obvious, I don’t live in New York. And, beyond that, my family knows that I don’t like visiting the city. I am more comfortable in the small town of Salem, Oregon.

I do enjoy watching the TV drama, Blue Bloods, which is set in New York. Among many other subjects, it has included references to the Broken Windows theory of law enforcement.

The facts about the Manhattan Institute’s accomplishments, including advocacy for Broken Windows, are particularly interesting. It has brought a sense of optimism to New York by advocating free market principles – call them “conservative” if you must – to solving problems in the nation’s largest city.

Kudos to MI.

“The Institute must face these dangers,” Mone said in reference to issues where MI had made a difference. “It must continue to lead; it must remain an incubator of fresh insights and a place where forgotten truths can be recovered. Our city, our state, and our whole nation are divided in pitched arguments not only over the details of policy, but the essence of principle.”

To me, one key to MI’s advocacy has been its commitment to free market principles. The point is that such principles can help to produce solutions for cities and counties, not just every-increasing reliance on government largesse.