Michael Brown--Hillsboro, OR city manager--views his council meetings, in part, as "performances." To that end, we take a behind-the-scenes tour of Hillsboro's unique state of the city addresses, where there are comedy routines, acting cameos by former officials, and text message polls. Plus, the dramatic vote on last year's sanctuary city policy.

"State of the City" book by Scott Lazenby: https://www.amazon.com/State-City-Scott-Lazenby/dp/1977683630/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

City Council Chronicles provides reviews of city council meetings from across the world. Named a "Top 100 Local Government Influencer" in 2016 and 2017 by ELGL.org.

Link: https://councilchronicles.com/ Twitter: @michaelkarlik.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citycouncilchronicles/.

Graphic by Ben Wasserman: @benwassetweet.

Listen to the newest project from City Council Chronicles, the eight-part "Tear It Down" audio story, available at www.tearitdownpodcast.com.

Music credits: