In November, Americans will head to the polls for midterm elections that will shape the country’s political direction and determine the balance of power in Congress.

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The stakes are significant. But the health of American democracy cannot be measured by election results alone. What matters is what happens in the communities where Americans live, work and raise their families - and whether the institutions closest to them continue to earn their trust.

In America, people often discuss democracy in national terms: presidential elections, congressional majorities, constitutional crises. Yet democracy, in its essence, is a way of governing, built on accountability, participation, the rule of law and the belief that ordinary people have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their lives.

That is why America’s mayors matter - especially now.

Mayors don’t have the luxury of treating democracy as abstract. Their residents expect them to keep streets safe, maintain public services, respond to emergencies, protect the vulnerable and make communities more affordable and resilient. These responsibilities are practical, immediate and often politically complicated. They are also where the promise of democratic government becomes tangible to the........

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