Best Bureaucrats?

OK, we know. Given the definition above, a section on “best” bureaucrats seems like an oxymoron. The very definition of a bureaucrat connotes red tape, inefficiency and all that's bad about government. It means acting without thinking — going by the book, even if the book makes no sense.

Yet elected officials and public employees are key decision-makers at the intersection of government and business. And their decisions — or how they carry out the decisions of others — have widespread ramifications for commerce in their communities.

So we've dedicated this issue to recognizing those in Gulf Coast governments who “get it.”