WRCOG Exec. Dir. Kurt Wilson: State and Regional Perspectives on California’s Criminal Legal System

Policy Chats

In this episode, Executive Director of the Western Riverside Council of Governments Kurt Wilson talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about community development, disproportionate minority contact deficiencies within the criminal legal system, and regional governance and collaboration.

About Kurt Wilson:

Dr. Kurt Wilson serves as the Executive Director of the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG), bringing over 25 years of local government leadership experience. A native of the Inland Empire, Dr. Wilson has held senior management roles in five cities across the West Coast and served in both state and federal capacities, including two gubernatorial appointments from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. His career highlights include guiding the City of Stockton through a financial recovery from bankruptcy to becoming one of the most fiscally healthy large cities in the U.S. Dr. Wilson is also an educator, teaching courses in public policy and government operations, and has held leadership roles such as Vice President of the California affiliate of the International City and County Management Association.

Learn more about Kurt Wilson via https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-wilson/

Podcast Highlights:

"There was a time in our history... that once someone is convicted of doing something, we sort of throw them away... and then when they come out, having been in that environment, we're somehow surprised that things didn't get better."

- Kurt Wilson on the topic of the evolution of reintegration processes into society, post-incarceration.

"A lot of equity efforts fail because they're presented in a way where there's a clear winner and subsequently a clear loser. The person who feels as if they're being attacked, or that they're likely to lose is inherently going to push back. We see that in issues of race, we see that in issues of policing, all of our social issues, it's a very similar theme where we're not starting from the same place. By understanding that from the get-go, you're able to come up with some concepts to make a little bit more sense."

- Kurt Wilson on the topic of equity efforts and how framing can affect public perception of key issues.

Guest:

Kurt Wilson (Executive Director, Western Riverside Council of Governments)

Interviewers:

Rachel Strausman (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador)

Esa Hasan (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)

Music by: C Codaine
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase

Commercial Links:
https://spp.ucr.edu/ba-mpphttps://spp.ucr.edu/mpp

This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/

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