FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Dave Martin
646-483-5898
dave.goodgovpodcast@gmail.com
New York, NY — June 16, 2026
The Good Government Show Features Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Sports, Cities, and 25 Years of Civic Leadership
Longest-serving Orlando mayor shares lessons on public investment, crisis response, and what it really means to govern well
The Good Government Show, a podcast produced by the Good Government Institute, has released a new episode featuring Buddy Dyer, the longest-serving mayor in Orlando’s history and chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Professional Sports Alliance.
In a wide-ranging conversation with host Dave Martin, Mayor Dyer makes a compelling case for the role sports can play in urban development — economically, culturally, and civically. Orlando, he notes, is unique among American cities: it is the only municipality in the country that directly operates an NBA arena, the Kia Center, home of the Orlando Magic.
“There’s economic development that is tied to the venues that are associated with professional teams,” Mayor Dyer told host Dave Martin. “When it’s an idea, it’s not a good idea. When it’s reality, it becomes a good idea.”
Dyer walks listeners through Orlando’s sports and entertainment corridor — a mile-and-a-half stretch anchored by a performing arts center, Exploria Stadium (home of Orlando City SC), and the Kia Center — and explains how that concentrated investment has generated significant ancillary development throughout the district. He also addresses the thorny politics of public funding for private sports franchises, offering a nuanced take on what “fair to your community” actually means in practice.
The episode also goes deeper. Mayor Dyer reflects on leading Orlando through the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting — including a frank account of his decision to insist on leading the first press conference over FBI objections — and the emergency preparedness lessons that experience produced. He discusses immigration anxiety in his community, Orlando’s surprising rise as a Michelin-rated dining destination, and the Mayor’s City Academy, a ten-week civics program he has run for Orlando residents since the day he took office.
“The mark of a good mayor,” Dyer says, “is being able to shop in the local grocery store.”
The episode extends The Good Government Institute’s core mission of demonstrating that government works — and that the people leading it, at their best, are accessible, accountable, and deeply rooted in the communities they serve.
About The Good Government Show
The Good Government Show is produced by the Good Government Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to civic engagement and civic education. Each episode features government leaders, public servants, and civic-minded guests working to make democracy function at every level. New episodes are available wherever podcasts are found. Learn more at goodgovinstitute.org.