Mark Funkhouser’s career covers just about every possible aspect of public service. He was an auditor in government for a time. He has been in academia, teaching in MPA programs at various universities. He was an elected official—specifically the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 2000 to 2011. And he was the publisher of Governing magazine for 10 years. Mark has had quite a varied career and a lot of interesting experiences. GFOA Senior Manager of Research Shayne Kavanagh spoke to him about working with elected officials during a financial downturn.